Scorpio Tankers maintains discipline in strong market

Scorpio Tankers president Robert Bugbee noted the company’s deliberate avoidance of equity issuance despite buoyant tanker earnings over the past four years. While public peers raised fresh capital to expand fleets during previous cycles, Scorpio Tankers has refrained from new equity placements, preserving shareholder value and preparing for market reversion.

Mr Bugbee was speaking to Bloomberg senior transport analyst Lee Klaskow during Bloomberg’s Fireside Chat, which took place during London International Shipping Week 2025.

Mr Bugbee observed that “very little equity was raised during a very strong market for the last four years in tankers. That is quite unusual.”

He attributed this restraint to a collective discipline among major tanker operators and noted that, as a result, none of the public companies have needed to tap shareholder funds, even at market peaks.

This cautious capital stance extends to newbuild orders.

Mr Bugbee explained that current orderbooks remain modest on an annualised basis, despite strong freight rates, and that a substantial proportion of the existing fleet is ageing. He argued that, should demand soften, accelerated scrapping of older tonnage would swiftly restore supply–demand balance without the burden of undelivered vessels.

In a further testament to the sector’s turnaround, Mr Bugbee remarked, that lenders have found themselves unaccustomed to early debt repayments, with some even voicing concern over large-scale deleveraging.

He characterised this shift as testimony to the strengthened credit profiles of public tanker companies, contrasting sharply with the financing strains experienced during the Covid-19 downturn .

Mr Bugbee concluded by framing Scorpio Tankers’ strategy as one of measured resilience. He affirmed that, with minimal equity dilution and “a probability [Scorpio Tankers] will be net debt zero,” the company stands ready to navigate emerging geopolitical headwinds and freight-rate cycles with agility.

In November 2014, Mr Bugbee collected the inaugural Tanker Shipping & Trade Industry Leader Award.