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Persian Gulf-to-China Supertanker Fees Surge to $510,000 a Day Amid Hormuz Risks

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Rates for supertankers carrying crude from the Persian Gulf to Asia are hitting a two-month high as exporters scramble to secure vessels amid heightened uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Bloomberg report, citing data from the Baltic Exchange.

Ship earnings for the Middle East-to-China route jumped to $510,000 per day on Monday, as Iran began attacking commercial vessels along the Hormuz, after a ceasefire ended.

Mongolia Prosperity, a very large crude carrier, is set to load crude from an unnamed port in the Persian Gulf, before sailing to an East Asian country, for a total consideration of $31 million for the entire voyage, or 570 Worldscale points, according to shipping fixture reports and shipbrokers.

The carrier, operated by South Korea-based Sinokor Petrochemical, is booked by a Chinese refiner, with the charterer expected to pay for the additional war-risk premium, which is now in high-single-digit percentages of the total hull value.

Sinokor did not immediately respond to' request for a comment on this story.

According to shipbrokers, several supertankers were booked privately in recent days, with the small number of tanker owners in the Persian Gulf having significant leverage when negotiating prompt rates.

This comes as Middle Eastern exporters scale up activity to supply promised barrels to Asian buyers, with Saudi Arabia offering prompt deliveries from within the Gulf, while the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is helping shuttle Iraqi oil out of the Strait of Hormuz.

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