Scorpio Locks In Five Years of LR2 Cover at $29,000 a Day

January 5, 2026

Scorpio Tankers has agreed to time charter-out two of its LR2 product tankers, STI Rose and STI Alexis (both 2015-built), on five-year deals at $29,000 per vessel per day, with the charters expected to start in the first quarter of 2026. The move is being read as a clean “rate signal” for forward LR2 employment, since it puts a long-dated number on the table rather than leaving these ships exposed to spot swings.

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Focus	Deal terms	Rate signal	Who feels it
Scorpio Tankers fixes STI Rose and STI Alexis on five-year time charters at $29,000/day each, starting Q1 2026
Assets	Two LR2 product tankers: STI Rose and STI Alexis (both 2015-built)	Shows charterer willingness to lock in modern LR2 tonnage on multi-year terms	Owners with open LR2 exposure, charterers shopping for term cover, and forward-rate talk in the LR2 space
Duration	Five years per vessel	Creates a visible “floor number” for comparable period discussions, even if spot prints higher or lower	Period brokers, competing owners, and lenders watching cashflow stability on mid-life LR2s
Rate	$29,000 per vessel per day	Puts an explicit long-term price on the forward curve instead of leaving it implied by spot sentiment	Market participants benchmarking “term vs spot” risk and planning 2026–2031 exposure
Start window	Expected to commence in the first quarter of 2026	Anchors early-2026 employment expectations for LR2s with firm, disclosed terms	Charterers aligning Q1 coverage and owners weighing whether to fix or stay open
Business effect	Two ships shift from spot exposure to contracted revenue for five years	Highlights a preference for earnings visibility when the market is uncertain on forward direction	Equity and credit watchers tracking how much of the fleet is “locked” versus “floating”
Watchpoints	Counterparty quality, delivery into charter, and the gap between term and spot rates	If spot spikes, fixed period rates can look conservative; if spot weakens, they can look well-timed	Owners deciding how much forward coverage to take versus riding spot volatility

The term-market message inside $29,000/day

Scorpio Tankers disclosed five-year time charter agreements for two 2015-built LR2s, STI Rose and STI Alexis, at $29,000 per vessel per day, with expected start in the first quarter of 2026. The counterparty was not disclosed in the company announcement, but the size and duration put a clear marker on forward LR2 pricing.

Deal snapshot, translated into scale

Headline rate

$29,000 per day, per vessel

Two LR2s covered on identical five-year terms.

Term

5 years (expected start Q1 2026)

A long forward commitment, not a short-cycle employment bridge.

Back-of-envelope gross revenue

$0 (two vessels)

Assumes 365 days and 100% availability. Use the tool below to adjust assumptions.

How owners and charterers read a five-year number

Term fixtures like this compress a lot of information into one line. They show where a charterer is willing to lock in multi-year coverage and where an owner is willing to trade some upside for visibility. In the LR2 segment, a published five-year rate often becomes a reference point for period discussions even among parties not involved in the deal.

For owners, it converts part of the fleet from spot exposure into predictable contracted earnings for multiple years.
For charterers, it is a way to secure modern tonnage and reduce exposure to near-term market swings.
For the broader market, it adds a clear datapoint for the forward curve that is usually harder to observe than spot rates.

Term vs. spot lens (interactive)

This tool compares the disclosed time-charter economics to a hypothetical spot average over the same period. It is gross revenue only and does not model operating expenses, drydock, financing, commissions, or taxes.

Number of vessels

Time-charter rate (USD per day)

$29,000

Spot average assumption (USD per day)

$29,000

Term length (years)

Availability assumption (%)

95%

Time-charter gross: $0

Spot gross (assumed): $0

Difference: $0

Note: availability applies equally to both scenarios. This is a comparison lens, not a forecast.

Visual comparison

Time-charter total

Spot total (assumed)

A published five-year rate can influence period chatter because it is harder to “see” the forward market than it is to watch spot. The key point is not that $29,000/day is a ceiling or a floor, but that a charterer and owner were willing to commit at that level for a full five-year run.

Scorpio Tankers’ disclosure of two five-year LR2 time charters at $29,000 per day, starting in the first quarter of 2026, gives the product tanker market a rare, explicit term datapoint at a moment when forward pricing is often discussed more than it is documented.

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By the ShipUniverse Editorial Team — About Us | Contact