Oil tanker costs hit record $1.2mn a day as Iran war disrupts shipping

The Financial Times reports that daily costs for oil tankers have reached a record $1.2 million as the war involving Iran disrupts shipping. The shortage is concentrated in the biggest supertankers, with rates on important Middle East-to-China routes more than doubling since late August.

The move marks a rapid escalation from the shipping conditions reported in late August, when those routes were priced at less than half their current level. The immediate constraint is vessel availability rather than a stated change in crude demand, with disruption to regional shipping tightening access to ships capable of carrying the largest cargoes.

The direct mechanisms run through tanker owners, which can command higher freight rates, and oil producers and refiners using Middle East-China routes, which face higher transportation costs. China-linked buyers are particularly exposed to the route named in the report, while the wider impact depends on how long vessels remain unavailable and whether cargoes can be rerouted.

The reported rate is tied to the current wartime disruption and supertanker shortage, so its persistence is uncertain. No further details are established here about the duration of the conflict, the number of vessels affected, or how much of the higher freight cost is being passed through to crude prices or refining margins.

The next markers are changes in tanker availability, freight rates on the Middle East-China route and developments in the Iran war. A sustained rate above the late-August level would indicate that the shipping bottleneck is persisting; a reversal would show that vessel availability or routing has begun to normalize.