TacticScaleWhat International Seaways Does & How It Makes Money (INSW)
Updated October 2026 · reflects International Seaways's latest reported financials
Oil tanker company shipping crude oil and refined fuels worldwide. It earns revenue by chartering its crude and product tankers to oil companies, traders, refiners and government entities to carry their cargoes.
How International Seaways makes money
It earns revenue by chartering its crude and product tankers to oil companies, traders, refiners and government entities to carry their cargoes. It also earns fees from ship-to-ship lightering services and equipment support.
What International Seaways does
International Seaways, Inc. is a New York-based owner and operator of oceangoing tankers in the international flag trade. It runs two segments: Crude Tankers, with VLCCs, Suezmaxes and Aframaxes, and Product Carriers, with MR, LR1 and LR2 vessels. The fleet totals about 70 ships. Some MR tankers are IMO III-compliant, so they can carry edible oils such as palm and vegetable oil as well as petroleum products, which makes it easier to switch between cargo types. The company also offers ship-to-ship lightering, from support equipment like hoses and fenders to full-service operations using its own lightering vessels. Its customers include independent and state-owned oil companies, oil traders, refinery operators and international government entities. It was incorporated in 1999 as OSG International, Inc. and took the International Seaways name in October 2016.
Products & services
- VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax crude tankers
- MR, LR1 and LR2 product carriers
- IMO III-compliant MR tankers for edible oils
- Ship-to-ship (STS) lightering services
- STS support equipment (hoses and fenders)
What is International Seaways worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, International Seaways's most-likely value is about $50 versus a recent price near $120 (58% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$38) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
⚠ Capital-intensive — this business reinvests heavily, so free cash flow runs well below its earnings. Fair value here is built on free cash flow, which understates owner earnings for reinvestment-heavy companies — read it as conservative.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
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