The VLCC tanker market gave back some recent gains this week, according to a report by reports dated 25 October 2026.
Routes and headline figures
The TC1 75,000-ton MEG to Japan index climbed by 92 points to finish the week at WS1075, and the corresponding Baltic round-trip Time Charter Equivalent rose by $28,600 to $313,200 per day, the report said.
On the MEG to UK-Continent trade, the TC20 90,000-ton index moved higher in aggregate terms, edging up by $168,800 to reach $21.51 million for the voyage assessment, which the source equated to a Baltic round-trip TCE of $336,400 per day.
Regional divergence and market tone
Sources noted a contrasting move in the Mediterranean-to-East trade, where the TC15 80,000-ton Mediterranean/East index declined over the week, a development that trimmed some of the broader market’s recent improvement.
The combination of stronger readings on key Middle East Gulf routes and weakening Mediterranean numbers produced a mixed picture rather than a clear and broad-based upswing, leaving overall sentiment described by the source as one of partial retracement of earlier gains.
Those route-level outcomes left two prominent benchmark TCEs, the MEG/Japan and the MEG/UK-Continent round trips, both comfortably in six-figure territory, with the MEG/UK-Continent assessment returning the higher TCE of the two, according to the figures reported.
The report’s figures underline that weekly shifts can be sizable in dollar terms on long-haul VLCC voyages, with the published movements in both points and TCEs illustrating how quickly chartering economics may swing between competing routes within the same market cycle.
reports supplied the numerical indices and round-trip TCE conversions on 25 October 2026, forming the basis of the week’s assessment of the VLCC freight picture.
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