Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 7
Trafigura Charters 2-Million-Barrel Supertanker for $76 Million as Gulf War Drives 10-Fold Rate Spike
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 7

Trafigura Charters 2-Million-Barrel Supertanker for $76 Million as Gulf War Drives 10-Fold Rate Spike

1 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 7

Summary

  • $76 million is the price Trafigura agreed to pay for the supertanker Alexandros to carry about 2 million barrels from the U.S. Gulf Coast to China, with loading expected around Nov. 19.
  • That works out to roughly $38 a barrel in freight alone, versus a pre-war voyage cost of about $7 million to $10 million for the same route.
  • Shipping rates have surged because the war in the Persian Gulf has left too few available tankers worldwide.
  • Middle East producers are conserving exports through Hormuz by using shuttle tankers to move crude across the strait for transfer in the Gulf of Oman, reducing exposure to Iranian attack but tying up more ships.

Insights

As transit times double and shipping costs eat 30% of crude value, who truly profits from this unprecedented Middle East tanker crisis?
With shipping costs exploding to $76 million, what happens to global oil prices if the U.S.-Asia arbitrage window stays permanently shut?
Tankers are turning dark to survive the Strait of Hormuz, but how long can the world rely on this dangerous shadow fleet?