Aging, Sanctioned, and Stranded: The New Structural Reality in the Market in Hellenic Shipping News 05/06/2026 I n its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “one of the most defining developments in contemporary maritime dynamics is the increasingly distorted relationship between fleet aging, sanctions exposure, and demolition activity. While both the tanker and dry bulk sectors face aging fleet profiles, sanctions are influencing these markets in fundamentally different ways, creating a distinct two-tier structure in global shipping. Sanctions remain overwhelmingly concentrated within energy-related trades. Currently, 927 tankers, approximately 11.6% of the total tanker fleet, are identified as sanctioned. Conversely, the dry bulk sector remains largely insulated, with only 65 sanctioned vessels, representing just 0.4% of the fleet”. Source: Xclusiv Shipbrokers According to Xclusiv, “the age distribution of these vessels is telling. In the tanker segment, nearly 93% of sanctioned units are over 16 years old. Staggeringly, 441 vessels fall into the 21–25-year bracket. Under normal market conditions, these vessels would have long exited the market; however, employment within opaque, sanctions-linked trading networks has artificially extended their commercial lifespan. Within dry bulk, while the majority of sanctioned units (56 out of 65) are also over 16 years old, the absolute volume is insufficient to cause the same structural distortion observed in tankers”. The shipbroker added that “the tanker segment’s composition is particularly critical for market balance. Sanctioned tonnage is heavily concentrated in larger crude and dirty-product categories: Aframax/LR2 vessels account for 324 units (26% of their total fleet), followed by VLCC/ULCC (160 units/18%) and Suezmaxes (118 units/17%). While these vessels remain technically active, they are largely excluded from mainstream chartering, banking, and insurance networks. This effectively creates a “hidden”