Oil tanker rates just hit levels nobody's ever seen before.
VLCC supertankers moving crude from the Middle East to China are now earning ~$800,000 per day. That's not a typo. Two months ago, this number was less than half that.
A single voyage from the US Gulf to Asia now costs ~$29.5 million before you even factor in war-risk insurance or delay fees.
What's driving this? Fewer ships are willing to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That choke point risk is forcing tankers to take longer alternative routes, keeping vessels at sea longer and shrinking available capacity fast.
Historically, these tankers earned around $45,000/day. Forecasts now show earnings staying above $100,000/day well into next year—more than double the norm.
This isn't just a shipping story. Higher transport costs feed directly into energy prices, which feed into everything else. When it costs this much to move oil, that cost doesn't just disappear—it shows up at the pump, in freight costs, in manufacturing.
Inflation pressures aren't gone. They're just moving through different channels now.
VLCC supertankers moving crude from the Middle East to China are now earning ~$800,000 per day. That's not a typo. Two months ago, this number was less than half that.
A single voyage from the US Gulf to Asia now costs ~$29.5 million before you even factor in war-risk insurance or delay fees.
What's driving this? Fewer ships are willing to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That choke point risk is forcing tankers to take longer alternative routes, keeping vessels at sea longer and shrinking available capacity fast.
Historically, these tankers earned around $45,000/day. Forecasts now show earnings staying above $100,000/day well into next year—more than double the norm.
This isn't just a shipping story. Higher transport costs feed directly into energy prices, which feed into everything else. When it costs this much to move oil, that cost doesn't just disappear—it shows up at the pump, in freight costs, in manufacturing.
Inflation pressures aren't gone. They're just moving through different channels now.
