Caribbean Basin crude oil exports have risen sharply this year, increasing by 234 million barrels year-on-year and amounting to roughly an extra 880,000 barrels per day, a 45% gain compared with 2025, according to data supplied by Signal Ocean and reported by MarineLink Maritime News on 22 September 2026.
Signal Ocean’s year-to-date export totals form the basis of the figures published by MarineLink. The dataset shows the substantial increase in outbound crude volumes from the Caribbean Basin over the comparable period in 2025.
Niels Rasmussen, quoted in the MarineLink item, highlighted the scale of the uplift, noting the 234 million-barrel rise and the annualised equivalent of 880,000 barrels per day. The report presents the change as a 45% jump year-on-year.
The headline numbers underline a marked change in the region’s crude flows in 2026. The rise is presented as an absolute volume increase rather than as a shift in export composition or destination.
Market participants and shipping interests will be watching the detailed monthly flows and vessel itineraries to understand how the additional barrels are being moved. Signal Ocean’s data provide a yardstick for those monitoring tanker demand and regional export capacity.
Scale and measurement
The 234 million-barrel figure is a year-to-date comparison versus the same period in 2025, and the reported 880,000 barrels per day is given as an equivalent daily rate for the additional volume. MarineLink cites Signal Ocean as the source for both the aggregate and daily-rate calculations.
MarineLink’s account does not set out the precise month-to-month breakdown or the destinations for the extra cargoes. The 45% figure is a direct year-on-year percentage change derived from the volumes reported by Signal Ocean.
Observations and next steps
Observers seeking to assess consequential changes to tanker employment, port throughput and storage utilisation will require more granular data than the headline totals. Vessel-level tracking, cargo destination records and terminal intake statistics would be needed to map the operational effects precisely.
For now, the figures reported by MarineLink and attributed to Signal Ocean provide a clear indication of an unusually large year-on-year rise in crude export volumes from the Caribbean Basin through 2026 to date.
The region’s export trend will be of continuing interest to shipowners, charterers and terminal operators as they plan for vessel availability, voyage routing and cargo scheduling for the remainder of the year.
All figures quoted here are taken from the MarineLink Maritime News report dated 22 September 2026, which in turn attributes the statistics to Signal Ocean and records the commentary supplied by Niels Rasmussen.