Scorpio Tankers has committed $415.6m to four newbuildings — doubling its directly controlled VLCC orderbook and adding two more LR2s in China — while selling three older product tankers for a combined $180.5m.

The Emanuele Lauro-led owner has agreed to acquire two scrubber-fitted VLCCs at Hengli Shipbuilding in Dalian for $135m apiece, with deliveries scheduled for September and October 2028. The contract lifts Scorpio's directly controlled VLCC newbuilding programme to four ships. The New York-listed company re-entered the crude tanker sector late last year with two 320,000 dwt vessels ordered at South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, priced at around $128m each and due in the third and fourth quarters of 2028.

On the product side, Scorpio is adding two scrubber-fitted LR2s at Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry for $72.8m each, with the pair arriving in October and November 2029. The Hantong deal builds on a letter of intent disclosed in July for another two LR2s at the same yard at the same price, with deliveries in the second and third quarters of 2029. Scorpio also holds four LR2 orders at Dalian Shipbuilding, including a pair due in 2027 and two option vessels scheduled for 2029.

Selling the old to fund the new

Alongside the newbuilding spend, Scorpio has agreed to sell three older product tankers for a combined $180.5m. The 2014-built, scrubber-fitted MR STI Dama goes for $37.5m, while the 2014-built LR2 STI Elysees and the 2015-built STI Veneto will fetch $70m and $73m respectively. All three transactions are expected to close before the end of the year.

The sales extend an aggressive fleet-recycling drive over the past year. In May, Scorpio agreed to offload four LR2s for $285.8m while ordering another two MR newbuildings in China. That programme followed a $300m six-ship disposal package unveiled in April.

Position in crude tankers deepens

Scorpio has also pushed deeper into crude shipping beyond its wholly controlled fleet. In July, the company agreed to take a stake of less than 15% in a joint venture holding eight scrubber-fitted VLCC newbuildings for delivery between 2029 and 2030.

For charterers and the product tanker market, the commercial signals are twofold. First, the $70m-plus prices achieved for decade-old LR2s show owners can still monetise ageing tonnage at levels that largely fund replacement orders — a dynamic that keeps demolition supply tight and supports the asset-value floor for the existing fleet. Second, Scorpio's steady sell-down of older units compresses the availability of eco-modern tonnage for period charter, at a time when the company's average fleet age stands at 10.2 years.

The strategy also rebalances Scorpio's exposure. The company built its franchise on product tankers but is now allocating capital to VLCCs at both Hanwha Ocean and Hengli, hedging its earnings profile across the crude and clean trades ahead of the 2028–2030 delivery window.

The numbers after the deals

Following the latest additions, Scorpio holds agreements or letters of intent covering 17 directly controlled newbuildings — five MRs, eight LR2s and four VLCCs — for delivery through 2030. Its existing fleet stands at 74 product tankers: 25 LR2s, 35 MRs and 14 handymaxes.

That pipeline implies roughly a 23% expansion of the controlled fleet on a vessel-count basis by the end of the decade, before counting the eight VLCCs held through the joint venture stake or any further disposals of existing ships.

With deliveries on the new VLCC pairs clustered in late 2028 and the LR2 programme stretching into 2029, Scorpio has locked in yard slots and pricing well ahead of the freight cycle — positioning it to benefit if crude and product rates firm as the older tonnage it is now selling exits the market.