COSCO SHIP ENGY (01138) saw its shares rise more than 7% during the morning session, bringing its cumulative gain for the year to over 80%. At the time of writing, the stock was up 7.04%, trading at HK$17.34, with a turnover of HK$128 million.

A research report from Guotai Haitong Securities noted that since August 2025, increasing crude oil production and stricter sanctions on Russian oil have driven tanker capacity utilization rates higher, significantly elevating the average freight rates and increasing price volatility. Since 2026, geopolitical tensions have further boosted shipowner sentiment, with some international operators increasing chartering activities to control market supply. Recent tanker freight rates have remained elevated, with last week's VLCC TCE rates for the Middle East-China route holding above $120,000 per day. The report highlighted that strong shipowner sentiment is likely to continue influencing short-term freight rates. Analysts recommended monitoring the year-on-year upward trend in average freight rates and projected that tanker profits in the first quarter of 2026 could surge several times compared to the same period last year.