LR2s Turn Dirty: A larger fleet, but fewer LR2s trading clean

Dirty Employment Gains Ground The LR2 market has undergone a marked change in vessel employment since the start of 2025. Signal Ocean data show that dirty employment accounted for 74.2% of the LR2 fleet on 30 October 2026, compared with 53.0% on 1 January 2025. The shift accelerated in 2026, reducing the number of LR2s in clean trades even as the overall fleet expanded.

Dirty-employed LR2s rose from 256 to 402 vessels, an increase of 57%, while clean-employed tonnage fell from 227 to 140, a reduction of 38%. Over the same period, the combined LR2 count grew from 483 to 542 vessels. A larger fleet has therefore delivered fewer clean ships.

Daily vessel counts by employment. 30 October 2026 is the latest change in the series; counts are unchanged to 7 November 2026.

Chart 1. LR2 vessels in dirty and clean employment, and the dirty share of the LR2 fleet, 1 January 2025–30 October 2026. Source: Signal Ocean Platform, LR2 employment data.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →