US-Iran Conflict Helps Drive Wave of Supertanker Orders
- On September 17, shipowners ordered 217 supertankers this year, a record-breaking $20 billion buying spree as the US-Iran war forces trade route shifts and boosts demand for long-haul crude shipments.
- Virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to a Saudi pipeline forced Middle Eastern producers to acquire their own vessels to bypass Iranian attacks, significantly altering oil transport patterns.
- Spot prices recently climbed above $500,000 per day from about $132,000 in February, while building each Very Large Crude Carrier costs about $130 million with around 20 per cent of the fleet over 20 years old.
- Rising bunker prices push container shipping rates higher as owners recoup costs through surcharges, while older vessels populate a 'shadow fleet' transporting sanctioned oil outside mainstream Western shipping systems.
- Regional production in South America could grow by around 2.5 million barrels per day through 2030, fueling expectations that long-haul trades on bigger vessels will remain resilient into the medium term.
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39 Articles
The enormous extra bill could end up with consumers, experts warn.
Svenska Dagbladet
Dagens industriThe world is starting to run out of available oil tankers, driving up shipping costs and threatening to disrupt global oil flows even further.
An unprecedented leap in oil freight costs threatens the feasibility of long-distance transactions, with a shortage of giant carriers, pushing refineries to search for closer supplies and redraw trade routes.
Between the oil well and the gas pump lie complex supply flows that have been subject to significant changes since the start of the Iran-Iraq War. In addition to the semi-permanent closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the recently announced Houthi blockade of Saudi ships in the Red Sea, there is another element giving oil traders a headache: it is becoming increasingly difficult to charter oil tankers to transport the black gold from A to B.
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