The sinking of a British-owned ship in the Red Sea on Saturday was a stark reminder of the dangers facing ships and their crews when geopolitical tensions rise around the world.

The MV Rubymar had been taking on water since being hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels on February 18.

The Belize-flagged bulk carrier became the first vessel to be fully destroyed since the Houthis began attacking ships in the wake of Israel’s siege in Gaza.

But the uncomfortable truth is that war and terrorism are among the drivers behind increased revenues and profits for the tanker ship industry, including for several Bermudian-based companies that are among the world’s largest such operations.

Nordic American Tankers is a Bermudian-based, New York Stock Exchange-listed oil tanker company that maintains a fleet of 20 Suezmax tankers with a cargo-lifting capacity of one million barrels of oil each.

Two days before the sinking of the MV Rubymar, NAT released its results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2023.

The company reported a 2023 net profit of $98.7 million, more than six times the $15.1 million net profit in the prior year.

Fourth-quarter net profit was $17.5 million, more than double the third-quarter net profit of $7.5 million.

Net voyage revenue for the year was $262.2 million, compared with $168.8 million in 2022.

In the past five years, the company’s Suezmax tankers have loaded/unloaded cargoes more than 3,000 times in no fewer than 67 countries. Russia is not on the list, since NAT suspended operations there after it invaded Ukraine.

Herbjorn Hansson, founder, chairman and chief executive of Nordic American, said in the results statement: “The tanker market was already sailing into a tighter supply-demand balance before recent political events took place.

“Russia has invaded Ukraine. Hamas launched attacks on Israel. The Houthis launched missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The United States have taken action against Iran-sponsored militias in Iraq and Syria.

“These ongoing conflicts are affecting the world’s oil distribution routes resulting in longer voyages and higher demand for our tankers.”

The company added: “Political uncertainty continues and we do not see this going away anytime soon. We see high demand for oil, a fragmented trade picture with logistical inefficiencies and a tight supply of ships. These are interesting dynamics for the NAT oil tankers.

“Seasonal variations will occur but as we have seen in 2023 and so far this year, the trend supports future earnings at higher levels than in the past.

“NAT in particular stands to benefit from the fact that the supply of Suezmax tankers will remain at historic low levels for at least the next two or three years.”

On Monday, NAT announced that Alexander Hansson, the non-executive vice-chairman of NAT and son of Herbjorn Hansson, had bought 250,000 shares in NAT at $4.25 per share for a sum of $1,062,500.

Monaco-based Mr Hansson privately owns 2.5 million shares in NAT.

The Hansson family is the largest private shareholder group in the company.

Bermudian-based Teekay Tankers has a fleet of 42 double-hull tankers, including 25 Suezmax tankers and 17 Aframax/LR2 tankers, and has eight time-chartered-in tankers.

Vessels are typically employed through a mix of spot tanker market trading and short or medium-term, fixed-rate time charter contracts.

Teekay also owns a very large crude carrier through a 50 per cent-owned joint venture.

The company reported record net income of $513.7 million in 2023, more than double its 2022 net income of $229.1 million.

“Firm oil demand, increased tonne-miles due to the Russia-Ukraine war, record export volumes from the US Gulf and low fleet growth laid the foundation for a very strong tanker market throughout 2023, while seasonal factors and geopolitical tension added to rate volatility,” said Kevin Mackay, Teekay Tankers’ president and chief executive.

“With our fleet of mid-size vessels almost exclusively trading in the spot market, Teekay Tankers achieved our best financial results in the company’s history.”

Other factors are also expected to come into play, pushing rates up.

Last November, Teekay provided a market update.

It said: “Looking farther ahead, a small-tanker order book, a lack of available shipyard capacity until 2027, and an ageing fleet point towards continued strength for spot tanker rates over the medium term.”

DHT Holdings Ltd is a Bermudian-based crude oil tanker company operating in the very large crude carrier segment of the market with a fleet of 24 vessels.

It reported 2023 net income of $161.4 million, the second-best year in the company’s history.

In a statement released early last month, DHT said: “The overall freight market shows encouraging behaviour for what is ahead of us.

“OPEC+ cuts suggest an acceptance that non-OPEC supply is growing with relative market shares being adjusted accordingly, expanding transportation distances.

“We expect continued rewarding times ahead, supported by growth in oil demand, longer transportation distances and a very limited supply of new ships into a rapidly ageing global fleet.

“As stated in our last earnings report, it is an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, not least the latest developments in the Red Sea, with conflicts and risks on several fronts, many that will influence our business and could be beneficial for our market.”