Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF

BWET

Valor de mercado US$ 243 mi

Brazilian equities, tanker shipping, utilities, cybersecurity and cloud computing ETFs led last week's winners. Here's what fueled their gains.

The Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (NYSE:BWET) has climbed from roughly $18 at the start of 2026 to more than $1,000, as geopolitical disruptions send crude oil transport costs soaring.

The Breakwave Tanker Shipping exchange-traded fund started 2026 at $18. On Thursday, the ETF closed New York trading north of $1,000, having rallied by a third in just two weeks. This exponential move can be explained by the record-breaking costs to hire a crude-oil tanker, stemming from disruptions to energy shipments in the Strait of Hormuz over the last six months.

Despite a weak September for broader markets, shipping, rate hedges, oil and semiconductors delivered strong ETF gains.

The Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF is an extremely concentrated bet on specific forward freight agreements, not a direct tanker shipping investment. BWET's 3,440% YTD surge is driven by niche exposure to Middle East Gulf–China routes, rolling contracts, and prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruptions. BWET faces eventual catastrophic downside risk—an 80%+ collapse is plausible if TD3C rates normalize, even if global tanker markets remain strong.

Tanker shipping is having its 2020-oil-in-the-storage-tank moment, and one obscure freight-futures fund is the purest expression of it.

American consumers seeking relief at the pump might want to look away the next time they pass a fuel station. WTI crude futures recently topped $105 per barrel before settling around $100, and diesel prices are soaring to unprecedented heights.

The dry bulk segment was named my top pick for 2026, and CMB.TECH, J Mintzmyer's top pick in dry bulk, has delivered a 102.63% total return YTD. Dry bulk supply is tightening due to aging fleets, slow newbuild deliveries, and shipyard backlogs, supporting higher asset values and NAV.

Freight ETFs are surging as Middle East disruptions send tanker rates soaring, with BWET up over 3,700% YTD and shipping earnings at record levels.

The Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET) is up over 3,600% year to date, according to Morningstar, by far the best performance of any non-levered U.S. fund as the price of transporting oil has soared due to geopolitical shocks.   Led by the U.S.-Iran war repercussions, there have been over 140,000 disrupted freight cargo vessels across the globe contributing to higher shipping rates.