Consultancy & Research

Consultancy and research are central to our services. We provide our brokers and their clients with independent, forward thinking market research and analysis to enable informed decision making.

Our team of analysts make sense of the huge volumes of data circulating in the market providing insight into complex issues, reacting to changes in supply, demand and geopolitics.

Consultancy & Research in numbers

50k

Ocean going cargo vessels in operation

10k+

Number of shipowners

74m

Barrels per day 2024 seaborne oil flows

Key Consultancy & Research services

Supply & Demand Forecasts

Our in house forecasting models take account of macroeconomic and trade developments to give an unbiased long term view of market fundamentals. We produce bespoke forecasts which account for specific client needs.

Future Fuel, Decarbonisation & Regulation

We help clients understand the regulatory landscape and advise on solutions to comply with regulation and meet their decarbonisation strategy.

Data Services

Our diverse maritime data sets range from vessel supply and specifications data, to market related fixture and freight rate information. We provide data in a range of formats including as an API.

Consulting & Advisory

Our team provide bespoke consulting services which leverage the in house expertise of Gibson’s brokers and analysts. We provide feasibility studies, strategy advice and long term forecasts and work with a network of industry experts to deliver any project which our clients require.

Consultancy & Research team

Brendan Bos

Market Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

Gordon Collen

Market Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7667 1230

Contact

Lakshmy Soman

Data Researcher

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

Matt Coates

Research Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

PeiQi (Chloe) Chen

Research Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: Singapore

Contact

Richard Matthews

Director

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

Senthuran Raviraj

Lead Gas Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

Shashank Sagar

Research Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: Mumbai

Contact

Svetlana Kourmpeti

Senior Market Analyst

Department: Consultancy & Research

Location: London

Contact

Propelling maritime trade through excellence in shipping services.

With over 130 years of experience and a global network of industry connections, we are your trusted partner in shipbroking and advisory services.

Tankers

From crude oil to refined products we facilitate the chartering and brokerage of tankers.

LPG, Ammonia & Petrochemical Gases

Leveraging expertise, we ensure seamless transportation of liquefied gases.

Sale & Purchase

Facilitating the acquisition, divestiture and value optimisation of shipping vessels.

Specialised & Chemical Tankers

Offering specialised solutions, we manage the chartering and brokerage of chemical tankers.

Projects & Time Charter

Catering for the specific needs of clients in project and time charter requirements.

Consultancy & Research

Providing valuable insights and strategic advice to empower our clients with market intelligence and analysis.

LNG

Facilitating chartering solutions to ensure the efficient and secure transportation of LNG.

Dry Cargo

Managing and actioning the chartering and brokerage of dry bulk commodities.

Gibson Capital

Gibson Capital provides specialised maritime finance and advisory services.

Discover more weekly reports

Tanker Market Report 31.07.26

Prisoners of Geography

As the War in the Middle East drags on, Middle East exporters continue to adapt operations as best they can, with their specific geography and access to routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz being the primary success factor. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, who all have access to domestic ports outside Hormuz, have emerged as the “winners”, but still lack sufficient alternative export routes. Iraq has access to the Mediterranean via Turkey and has been trucking fuel oil via Syria but is vulnerable to regional politics and bilateral relations. As regional producers push ahead with expanding their export options outside of Hormuz, monitoring the development of these projects is critical to determining longer term demand trends for tankers.

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Tanker Market Report 24.07.26

Structural Checkmate

With the Houthis declaring a full naval blockade specifically against Saudi Arabia on 20 July and threatening any vessel calling at Saudi ports, the southern Red Sea faces heightened security risk. Within days of the announcement, the Houthi’s claimed strikes on two tankers have effectively paralyzed direct Yanbu-to-East exports through the Bab-el-Mandeb.

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Tanker Market Report 17.07.26

Diesel Drought

With the Middle East crisis at the forefront of everyone’s minds, a second, more slowly building supply shock has flown somewhat under the radar. However, when on the 8th of July Russia banned diesel exports for the rest of the month, a significant share of the world’s seaborne diesel supply was suddenly removed, tightening a market already stretched thin. Some supply will still flow to the market, as supplies under pre-existing government agreements will be exempt from the restrictions. The result has been record high diesel refining margins in the US and Europe, whilst in the East, refining margins rose but are yet to return to the highs seen in March.

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Tanker Market Report 10.07.26

Can the US Keep It Up?

Over the course of more than 100 days of the Strait of Hormuz closure, the US proved to be the single most important source of replacement barrels, both for crude and clean products. With the ceasefire unravelling and attacks in the Strait resuming, exports from the Middle East Gulf are unlikely to recover anytime soon. The need for replacement barrels therefore remains significant but can the US continue to deliver at such elevated levels?

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Tanker Market Report 03.07.26

Flow Recovers

The Middle East tanker market in June was shaped by a cautious recovery as a temporary US-Iran ceasefire helped boost regional transit activity. Both crude and clean product exports saw a significant jump in volumes, offering a welcome lift to regional loadings. However, the increase in activity was quickly met by a growing influx of available vessels, which began outpacing demand and putting downward pressure on record-high spot rates.

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Oil Tanker ship being towed during a sunset.

Tanker Market Report 26.06.26

Trumping 2025

Feature Story Crude Oil Clean Products Dirty Products Rates & Bunkers Trumping 2025 After a chaotic 2025 dominated by tariffs, trade wars, actual wars and sanctions, it seemed hard to imagine 2026 could trump the chaos of last year. Yet, that thesis was proven wrong after just three days with the US President using 2025 […]

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Tanker Market Report 19.06.26

Fourteen Points

After more than three months of disruption, the prospect of the Iran conflict drawing to a close appears higher than ever. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and the US, signed twice over the past week, sets out fourteen points charting a path towards normalisation.

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Tanker Market Report 12.06.26

Too Much of a Good Thing

Feature Story Crude Oil Clean Products Dirty Products Rates & Bunkers Too Much of a Good Thing The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since late February but despite an unprecedented energy crisis, tanker ordering activity for large carriers has intensified notably this year, especially for VLCCs, the segment that is arguably the most […]

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Tanker Market Report 05.06.26

Resilient VLCCs

The global VLCC market appears to have entered a phase of cautious stabilisation with freight rates retracing from their war-driven peak back toward pre-war benchmarks. The severe freefall many anticipated from structural tonnage oversupply has so far been avoided.

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Tanker Projects 05.06.26

Gibson Weekly Projects Report – 05 June

Gibson Weekly Projects Report

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Tanker Market Report 29.05.26

Back on Track?

Last month, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held its 84th Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 84) session in London. The meeting followed a volatile MEPC 2nd extraordinary session last October, where a coalition of countries successfully delayed the adoption of the IMO’s much anticipated Net Zero Framework (NZF).

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Tanker Market Report 22.05.26

Strait Forward

The Iran conflict is in its 12th week now, and the prospect for a deal which leads to normalisation in the Middle East look tenuous. Despite seeing some progress in the number of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, compared to pre-war levels flows of oil and products remain at a trickle, with Iran and the US both vying for control. Numerous conditions would need to be met before pre-war traffic could resume; security guarantees, mine clearance, and a renewed insurance framework, among others. If these conditions are met, and such a comprehensive agreement is reached today between Iran and the US (as well as Israel and the GCC), what would the timeline be for a resumption of Middle East Gulf exports?

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Tanker Market Report 15.05.26

EU keeps the pressure on

Whilst the world’s attention remains firmly focused on Iran, the EU’s 20th sanctions package has perhaps undeservingly received little attention. Yet, the fact that the EU continues to push ahead with further sanctions amid an unprecedented energy crisis is a clear indication that the EU’s stance on Russia remains unchanged.

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