Key Highlights

● Second-quarter net income rose to $295 million from $62 million a year earlier.

● Spot VLCC tanker earnings averaged $118,883 a day, far above year-earlier levels.

● Free cash flow reached a record $261 million, up from $71 million a year earlier.

● The board declared a dividend of $5.05 per share, its largest ever.

International Seaways (NYSE:INSW), the crude and product tanker owner, published second-quarter 2026 results in August 2026, and the year-on-year contrast is stark. Net income was $295 million, or $5.91 per diluted share, against $62 million, or $1.25, in the second quarter of 2025. Shipping revenues rose to $467 million from $196 million, and adjusted EBITDA reached $345 million compared with $102 million.

What drove the earnings

The company attributed the improvement mainly to higher time charter equivalent earnings. Spot very large crude carrier earnings averaged $118,883 per day in the quarter, while fixed-rate vessels in that class earned $214,216 per day. Suezmax spot earnings were $100,543 per day and medium-range product carriers earned $60,342 on the spot market. Revenue days fell to 5,446 from 6,570, which reflects a smaller fleet after disposals, so rates rather than volume explain the increase. Free cash flow was $261 million, which the company described as a record, compared with $71 million a year earlier. Six-month net income was $581 million, or $11.66 per diluted share, and six-month free cash flow was $394 million.

Fleet renewal and balance sheet

Management has been reshaping the fleet. Seven older vessels were sold in the first quarter for about $216 million, producing gains of about $88 million. The fourth of six long-range one product tankers was delivered in the second quarter, with the remaining two expected in the third quarter of 2026. The company also contracted four more such newbuildings for $244 million, with delivery expected in the second half of 2028. Total liquidity was about $935 million, comprising $409 million of cash and short-term investments and $526 million undrawn on the revolver. The company reported net loan-to-value of about 6%, and total debt of roughly $645 million based on the balance sheet. The company reported a total fleet of 70 vessels at 1 August 2026, including seven chartered-in, with an operating fleet of 64 vessels of which 27 were crude tankers and 37 were product carriers.

Elevated Rates Are Rarely Permanent in Shipping

International Seaways' surge in earnings came almost entirely from a much stronger tanker rate environment rather than volume, since revenue days actually fell on a smaller fleet after disposals. The company has used the windfall to renew its fleet, selling seven older vessels and contracting new long-range product tankers, and pays out at least 85 per cent of adjusted net income as dividends, so the central question for future payouts is how long the currently elevated spot rates persist, which historically has rarely been permanent in this cyclical industry.