Oil Tanker Rates Hit Record Highs as Strait of Hormuz Conflict Intensifies

Freight rates for the largest crude tankers hit a record on Thursday. VLCCs loading in the Gulf of Oman for delivery to China reached 450 on the Worldscale basis, equivalent to roughly $11.50 per barrel, the highest since tracking began.

The surge came during what gCaptain described as 'the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the U.S.-Iran war began in late February.' Iran's IRGC struck ten ships near the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. Navy sinking five Iranian oil tankers, and the resulting freight spike spread quickly across major crude routes. The US tanker-for-tanker policy that began in early September escalated quickly, with Iran declaring a maritime exclusion zone near the Strait the following week before the attacks intensified further.

MarineRadar tracking for the eastern approach to the Strait showed the Ras al-Khaimah emirate region at 255 unique devices over the past 48 hours, with the Qeshm County corridor registering 164. Both figures are elevated. Operators and charterers tracking the transit corridor account for most of that activity.

Yemen's Houthi forces also took control of Perim Island at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait this week, adding pressure at a second chokepoint. West Africa-to-Asia routes responded in kind, with freight assessments there also reaching records as shippers priced in Cape of Good Hope diversions for cargoes unable to transit either passage reliably.

Analysts told Reuters that tanker freight costs at these levels tend to flow through to consumer prices within weeks, as refinery acquisition costs track spot shipping rates closely on the major crude routes.