Athens-based Capital Tankers announced a net income of $23.1 million on revenues of $34.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The company also reported time charter equivalent revenue of $27.6 million.
During the first quarter, the tanker operator took delivery of six vessels, comprising one VLCC, two Suezmax tankers and three Aframax/LR2 tankers, bringing the average age of its fleet to 1.4 years as of March 31, 2026.
Subsequent deliveries through May 26, 2026, added another six vessels, expanding the active sailing fleet to 12 ships.
Among the deliveries, the VLCC Aristotelis II secured a one-year time charter at $100,000 per day with a major trading firm, while the remaining vessels operate in the spot market. Capital Tankers also reported that approximately 71 per cent of its spot days in the second quarter of 2026 have been booked at an average rate of $153,059 per day.
To fund these vessel acquisitions, the company drew $137 million in new senior secured debt during the quarter and assumed an additional $82.5 million of debt from Capital Maritime and Trading.
By March 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at $407.9 million, including restricted cash of $3 million.
In the wider tanker market, the company noted that geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East have taken 14 million barrels (2.2 million cubic metres) of daily oil supply offline. Despite these supply disruptions, freight rates remained resilient with Suezmax and Aframax/LR2 rates trending higher due to terminal bottlenecks and extended sailing distances.
A structural restocking cycle is expected by Capital Tankers to persist into 2027 and 2028 because of depleted global oil inventories.
The company currently holds 18 newbuildings on order with deliveries that are expected by the company to stretch from 2026 to 2028, and it maintains options to purchase 13 additional crude tankers.