One in four compliant VLCCs are now controlled by Ga-Hyun Chung-led Sinokor, according to analysis by Norwegian broker Fearnleys, following the Korean company’s dramatic supertanker raid in the S&P and charter markets over the past few months.

Fearnleys suggests Sinokor now controls about 25% of the compliant fleet, noting in a weekly report how this market domination has left charterers with very slim pickings for alternatives.

This has translated into soaring asset prices as well as spot and time charter rates, with tanker owners now fixing one-year deals for $90,000 a day and three-year deals for in excess of $60,000.

“Sinokor’s aggressive fleet expansion has tightened available vessels supply and strengthened owners’ pricing power,” HSBC stated in a recent shipping report. 

The valuation for a 10-year-old VLCC has experienced a 24% annual increase, reaching its highest value in the last decade, according to data from Greek platform Signal.  

A notable feature of Sinokor’s recent acquisitions is the age profile of the vessels, with a large portion concentrated around 14 years, Signal noted in a new report. 

“This points to a strategy focused on the short- to medium-term outlook of the VLCC market, particularly in an environment shaped by sanctioned tonnage and tightening fundamentals,” Signal suggested. 

“There has never before been a single VLCC operator with such a dominant market share of the active fleet,” BRS stated in a recent report, describing the Korean owner as a “super operator” of VLCCs.