Although there has been a boom in the industry of renewable energy companies, the global market is still massively dependent on using and consuming oil.
Across the world and as of 2020, there was a fleet of 810 different crude oil carriers working for different companies. These carriers are incredibly large and need a massive number of workers to keep them seaworthy.
Amazingly, despite the growing renewable energy industry, the number of oil tankers in the world actually increased significantly from 1980 to 2020 by nearly 80%.
Oil is still the most widely used source of energy across the world, and so the need to be constantly drilling for more is more important than ever.
And at the core of all the drilling and mining are the tanker companies that make it possible. In this article, we can explore the 10 largest oil tanker companies in the world based on their revenue as well as the size of their fleet.
An important note here before we get started is that these companies provide transportation for crude oil and petroleum products but they are not involved with the actual drilling operations or the acclimation of these products.
International Seaways
Coming in at number ten we have International Seaways, Inc. With its headquarters in New York City, International Seaways is one of the largest tanker companies in the world as it provides energy transportation for crude oil and petroleum products.
This company owns and operates a fleet that consists of 36 vessels. These break down into the fleet being made up of 11 VLCCs, 2Suexmax, 4 Aframax, 13 Panamax, and 4MR Tankers.
If these words mean nothing to you, skip to the end where you’ll find a helpful guide to the different types of tankers that exist.
Revenue: $366.184 Million
Market Cap: $491.42 Million
Assets: $1.712 Billion
Number of Employees: 1,642
SFL Corp LTD
Next, we have SFL Corp LTD. This group is based in Hamilton, a city in Bermuda. SFL, again, is a very large corporation that offers its many ships for the transportation of crude oil and petroleum.
However, SFL Corp LTD also provides transportation vehicles for our products as well.
This company commands approximately 84 vessels that include crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and ore carriers. That means that this company gets revenue from many different industries.
Other sources of revenue for this company include chartering, buying, and selling assets. SFL Corp LTD first established its operations through subsidiaries located in Bermuda, Cyprus, Malta, Liberia, Norway, Great Britain, and the Marshall Islands.
Revenue: $458.849 Million
Market Cap: $810.08 Million
Assets: $3.7 Billion
Number of Employees: 50
This is a vertically integrated seaborne shipping and logistics company based in Greece. They focus on the transportation of commodities like iron, coal, and grain.
That said, they also control a large fleet of crude oil, petroleum products, and chemical tankers through which they can provide a global shipping service.
Currently, Navios’ fleet contains 49 vessels, all of which together total approximately 5.1 million deadweight tons. The company operates a large group of bulk carriers of Panamax, Ultra-Handymax, and Handysize class and is also listed in the top 10 largest dry bulk shipping companies.
The majority of the company’s revenue comes from South America.
Revenue: $484.8 Million
Market Cap: $57.17 Million
Assets: $2.142 Billion
Number Of Employees: 250
Ranked number 7 on our list of largest oil tanker companies Tsakos Energy Navigation. It is one of the oldest independent energy carriers in the world and can boast a fleet of 64 modern, high-capacity crude oil tankers, LNG carriers (liquified natural gas), and shuttle tankers.
This company has been consistently growing since it was founded in 1993. It has become one of the largest ice-class tanker operators in the world, and offers its services worldwide, including its home territory of Greece, but also to the Philippines, Ukraine, Russia, and Romania.
Revenue: $512.5 Million
Market Cap: $167.14 Million
Assets: $3.156 Billion
Number of Employees: 3,500
DHT Holdings
Similar to SFL Corp, DHT Holdings is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. This is another independent oil tanker company that gives its services to oil companies.
At the time of writing, DHT owns 30 VLCC ships, 26 in the water and 4 under construction. They also operate 2 Aframax ships.
Although this fleet is not as impressive as some of the other company’s holdings, they are still able to provide a business for international customers through an integrated management in places like Singapore, Norway, and Monaco.
Revenue: $535 Million
Market Cap: $941.10 Million
Assets: $1.68 Billion
Number of Employees: 15
Frontline Ltd
This is one of the largest shipping companies in the sea transportation of crude oil and petroleum products around the world.
Frontline operates 24 very large oil tankers, 28 Suezmax tankers, and 20 Aframax, all of which are less than 10 years old at the time of writing this.
As of 2008, Frontline actually had the largest fleets of oil tankers in the world and had way more on order waiting to be built as well.
The company was formed as a result of a series of major mergers and acquisitions over the past decade.
Revenue: $957.3 Million
Market Cap: $1.22 Billion
Assets: $3.134 Billion
Number of Employees: 70
Scorpio Tankers Inc
Based in Monaco, Scorpio Tankers is a world leader in the transportation of petroleum products. They own and operate a fleet of the latest generation of fuel-efficient tankers from high-quality shipyards.
Currently, Scorpio Tankers maintain, finance, or otherwise have some control over 128 product tankers.
Revenue: $958.1 Million
Market Cap: $700.64 Million
Assets: $5.16 Billion
Number of Employees: 19
Euronav NV is based in Antwerp, Belgium, and provides its transportation services to the globe.
The company came about due to a large number of complicated mergers and joint ventures before Euronav became a fully owned subsidiary tanker division of CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge).
It is an independent Belgium crude oil transportation and storage company. Not only do they bring the oil around the world but they are also able to safely store the products.
Currently boasting a fleet of about 75 ships, the company also offers services like fleet management, environmental protection, and defense management.
Revenue: $1.4 Billion
Market Cap: $1.63 Billion
Assets: $3.71 Billion
Number of Employees: 3,110
Teekay Corp
Teekay is a Canadian company specializing in crude oil, LNG, and LPG tankers. It is one of the largest medium-sized tanker operators in the world.
They currently own a $12 Billion network that includes not just oil tankers, but gas as well, as well as offshore facilities.
Teekay Corp has headquarters in Canada, London, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Singapore, meaning that they have bases all across the world.
Currently, their fleet is 65 ships strong, with 18 more waiting to be built.
Revenue: $2 Billion
Market Cap: $268.95 Million
Assets: $2.23 Billion
Number of Employees: 6,800
Mitsui OSK Lines
At the top of our list of the largest oil tanker companies in the world is Mitsui OSK Lines, based in Tokyo, Japan.
More commonly known as MOL, the company operates a fleet of more than 800 vessels, many of which are crude oil and petroleum product tankers.
As you can imagine with a fleet of that size, MOL provides its services to many industries including energy, coal, ore, paper, cars, and a lot of other things.
They are able to transport just about anything to just about anywhere, thanks to their massive fleet.
Even back in 1964 when MOL was first founded after a successful merger of Osaka Shosen Kaisha and Mitsui Steamship Co, this was the largest shipping company in Japan, and one of the largest in the world at that time.
Back then, they had a fleet of 83 vessels, which is still more than some companies have to date.
Revenue: $10.6 Billion
Market Cap: $2.1 Billion
Assets: $19.4 Billion
Number of Employees: 8,941
Bottom Line
There is a massive number of ships moving around the ocean, providing services and delivering supplies to countries all over the world.
The companies that own and operate them provide an invaluable service to the world of globalized commerce.
However, none of those companies even come close to having the impact that Mitsui OSK Lines has, with their giant fleet of vessels.
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