The freight crisis has extended to other global routes, with shipping crude from West Africa to China now costing $27.22 per barrel, up from $6.50 in July. Meanwhile, Gulf oil flows recovered to 81% of pre-war levels in September as Saudi Arabia resumed exports through the Strait of Hormuz. To mitigate risks from Iranian blockades and drone attacks, some tankers are navigating the strait blacked out at night with transponders disabled, while crews are being offered up to $25,000 per trip to make the voyage.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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US Asia Supertanker Charters Hit $77M Fresh High
Commodities13 days ago
Charter rates for very large crude carriers hauling barrels from the US Gulf Coast to Asian markets have surged beyond all norms of the previous year. Data from the Baltic Exchange shows the cost to hire a VLCC for these routes has reached $77 million per trip, a sharp increase from a 2025 average of $9.2 million. This pricing spike implies an additional delivery cost of roughly $38.50 per barrel for a 2 million barrel cargo, which has helped keep Brent crude prices above $100 despite a recent G7 release of 100M barrels of stock.
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