NEW YORK, Jan 7, 2026, 11:52 (EST) — Regular session
- DHT shares rise about 6.6% in late-morning New York trade as tanker names climb
- Focus turns to U.S. plans to route Venezuelan crude to the U.S. and ease some sanctions
- Investors watch early signs of cargo rerouting and the next U.S. oil inventory data point
Shares of DHT Holdings, Inc. rose 6.6% to $12.81 on Wednesday, extending a broad rally in U.S.-listed tanker stocks during the regular session. Frontline gained about 8%, Teekay Tankers added about 9%, Scorpio Tankers rose about 5% and Nordic American Tankers climbed about 6.7%.
The move matters because DHT is a pure-play crude tanker owner, with most of its fleet made up of VLCCs — very large crude carriers that move oil on long-haul routes. That puts the stock close to the freight market: when spot rates (short-term charter prices) swing, earnings expectations can move quickly. 1
The latest jolt came from Washington and Caracas. A senior Trump administration official said Venezuelan oil sales to the United States would start immediately with an initial shipment of roughly 30 million to 50 million barrels, while sanctions would be selectively eased to help trade. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. would “let the oil flow,” with proceeds deposited into U.S.-controlled accounts. 2
Oil prices, meanwhile, edged down as traders digested the prospect of extra supply and shifting trade routes. Brent crude was down 0.7% at $60.31 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.3% to $56.39; SEB’s Ole Hvalbye called the initial volumes “quite small” versus the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the government’s emergency stockpile. Morgan Stanley analysts said the market could run a surplus of as much as 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026. 3
Shipping risk has been part of the same story. U.S. officials said the Coast Guard seized a Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuelan oil after a two-week pursuit across the Atlantic, and also intercepted another sanctioned supertanker on Wednesday. Those actions underline how quickly sanctions enforcement can snarl logistics — and how abruptly vessels can get tied up or rerouted. 4
Tanker investors have been leaning into the bigger rate backdrop, too. Tankers International, a VLCC pool operator, said 2025 delivered one of the strongest freight environments in years, with earnings pushing past $100,000 per day as “tonne-miles” — cargo volume times distance — rose. It also said roughly 100 VLCCs are officially sanctioned, shrinking the pool of ships available for regular, compliant trade. 5
But the upside case has moving parts. Traders and analysts said China’s independent refiners are likely to replace Venezuelan crude with other sanctioned barrels, including Iranian grades, as Venezuelan flows to China are curtailed; “The Venezuela drama hits China’s independent refineries the hardest,” Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said. Kpler data showed China imported 389,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil in 2025, and Reuters reported that loadings for Asia from Venezuela’s main ports have stopped since Jan. 1 — a reminder that rerouting could shorten voyages and cool freight demand if volumes prove limited. 6
