Supertanker Hire Costs Top USD 1 Million a Day After Saudi Pipeline Attack

Windward told Mint that chartering an oil supertanker to load in the Persian Gulf and pass through the Strait of Hormuz cost more than USD 1 million a day earlier this month. Quartz reported that shipping rates have hit records as a supertanker shortage grips global energy markets, tied to disruptions from the Iran war.

According to Mint, refiners face margin pressure because fewer available tankers are slowing deliveries at the same time as record freight costs bite.

The Economic Times and Maritime Professional reported that drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its east-west oil pipeline on September 13, halting crude loadings at Yanbu on the Red Sea. With that bypass offline, Mint said more barrels have been rerouted through the Strait of Hormuz and loaded onto a tanker fleet already stretched thin.

JP Morgan analysts wrote in a September 18 note that satellite tracking put Saudi crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz at an average of 2.9 million barrels per day over the prior six days, compared with 700,000 bpd in August.

A Dow Jones report carried by Morningstar said oil prices fell for a fourth consecutive session Monday, with improving Strait of Hormuz flows and prospects for renewed diplomacy over the Iran conflict easing immediate supply concerns.