Odfjell Q2 TCE Rises to $29,486/Day

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Norwegian chemical tanker operator Odfjell reported its Q2 2026 results. The company's chemical tanker business saw average daily Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) earnings rise to $29,486, up from $27,232 in Q1; quarterly time charter revenues increased from $167 million to $195 million, EBIT rose from $46 million to $69 million, and net profit increased from $32 million to $54 million.

The freight rate improvement in Q2 was concentrated mainly in the early part of the quarter. Odfjell stated that disruptions in the Middle East Gulf situation increased voyage distances and pushed up spot freight rates in some markets. In Q1, the company had 4 operating vessels inside the Strait of Hormuz, with related routes affected by additional ballast, diversion, supply, and insurance costs; by the end of Q2, all 4 vessels had left the area, and the company currently does not consider routing vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The fleet's average Annual Efficiency Ratio (AER) decreased from 7.0 in Q1 to 6.9 in Q2.

Actual data from another product and chemical tanker operator, Ardmore Shipping, also showed chemical tanker freight rates rising in Q2 compared to Q1. The average spot TCE for its 6 IMO 2 product/chemical vessels was $26,887/day in Q2, up from $22,284/day in Q1, an increase of approximately 20.7% quarter-on-quarter. As of July 29, Ardmore had locked in approximately 50% of its Q3 chemical tanker operating days, corresponding to an average spot TCE of approximately $25,000/day.

Odfjell's latest statistics on vessel supply show that the order book for its core deep-sea chemical tanker segment is equivalent to approximately 22% of the current fleet size. Net fleet growth in this segment was 2.9% in 2025, and the company expects growth to exceed 7% in 2026, with new capacity mainly concentrated in medium-sized stainless steel chemical tankers of approximately 25,000 DWT; new deliveries in the large stainless steel and Supersegregator market segments are more focused on replacing aging vessels. Odfjell also expects scrapping volumes to remain moderate from 2026 to 2027.

As of August 4, Odfjell operated 76 chemical tankers with a total deadweight tonnage of approximately 2.64 million, of which 40 were owned, 28 were time-chartered, and 8 were bareboat chartered. The company also has 18 listed newbuildings awaiting delivery, with a total deadweight tonnage of approximately 651,000, with delivery dates spanning 2026 to 2029, including 4 owned large stainless steel chemical tankers of 40,303 DWT each, as well as multiple long-term time-chartered newbuildings. In Q2, the company took delivery of 2 long-term time-chartered newbuildings, sold 1 vessel for scrapping, and signed agreements to purchase 4 Supersegregator newbuildings built at Japan's Kitanihon Shipyard.

On the demand side, Odfjell estimates that chemical tanker demand grew by approximately 1% in 2025, lower than the 3%–4% level of the previous two years; seaborne volumes of chemicals and vegetable oils increased by approximately 1%–2% year-on-year. The company expects subsequent chemical tanker demand growth of approximately 1%–2% per year. In 2025, contract volumes accounted for 57% of total transported volumes, unchanged from 2024, with annual transported volumes increasing from 13.2 million tons to 13.4 million tons.

Entering Q3, Odfjell has turned more cautious in its market outlook. The company stated that declining global cargo volumes and intensifying vessel competition are changing the strong environment seen in early Q2, and expects Q3 underlying net profit to be lower than Q2 and close to the level of Q1 this year.