The global oil tanker fleet will expand almost three times more quickly than demand this year, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd, a unit of the world’s largest shipbroker. Demand will climb 2.7 per cent as the fleet of 5,600 vessels swells by 7.5 per cent, Clarkson said in its Oil & Tanker Trades Outlook, published recently. Only one ship class—Panamaxes, the largest tankers that can navigate the Panama Canal—will shrink in relation to demand, the report said.

“Many tanker-owning companies are set to endure several months of hardship, as a patchy outlook for oil demand in the remainder of the year is set against an oversupplied fleet,” Clarkson said.

Owners are contending with the biggest glut of new vessels in 29 years at the same time that higher fuel costs, their main expense, have driven earnings for Supertankers to the lowest level since 2002. The price of ship fuel, or bunkers, has jumped 26 per cent this year to $624.39 a metric tonne, according to data.

Demand for Suezmax tankers, each able to carry one million barrels of crude, will fall 0.9 per cent while the fleet expands by 4.5 per cent, according to Clarkson. The number of very large crude carriers, that can haul two million barrels, will climb 16 per cent as demand gains 7.1 per cent, the report showed.

“Panamaxes in service will drop 1.2 per cent on increased scrapping as demand slips 0.4 per cent“, Clarkson said. Seaborne oil exports will rise 3 per cent to 37.6 million barrels a day, the report showed.

Clarkson predicted a 2 per cent drop in European imports to 8.9 million barrels a day and lowered its estimate for this year’s crude imports into China, the world’s second-largest consumer, to a daily 4.8 million barrels from 4.9 million barrels last month.