That would exceed its full-year 2025 net profit of RMB 4.04 billion — approximately USD 596 million.

COSCO SHIPPING Energy said international tanker market strength continued to reinforce in the first half, with tight compliant tonnage, rising industry concentration and geopolitical risk premiums lifting the freight rate centre.

Two VLCC routes tell the story:
TD15 West Africa–China: average TCE of USD 117,773/day, up about 180% year on year.
TD22 US Gulf–China: average TCE of USD 111,083/day, up about 170% year on year.

The Strait of Hormuz disruption also became a major variable. COSCO SHIPPING Energy disclosed that some vessels inside the Strait chose to wait temporarily for safety reasons, and all had safely exited by late June.

Despite that disruption, Q2 earnings continued to improve from Q1.
This is where scale matters. COSCO SHIPPING Energy controls one of the world’s largest tanker fleets, while its LNG business provides a stable earnings base through long-term charter contracts.

The wider message is also important: the 2026 tanker supercycle has moved from freight-market headlines into shipowners’ income statements.

With both COSCO SHIPPING Energy and China Merchants Energy Shipping issuing strong first-half profit forecasts, Chinese energy shipping majors are becoming some of the clearest listed beneficiaries of this VLCC-led tanker upcycle.