️🇸🇦🇮🇷🇾🇪 WSJ: A shortage of oil tankers, driven by drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and increased Iranian activity, has pushed daily hiring rates to a record $1 million per ship through the Strait of Hormuz.

️🇸🇦🇮🇷🇾🇪 WSJ: A shortage of oil tankers, driven by drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and increased Iranian activity, has pushed daily hiring rates to a record $1 million per ship through the Strait of Hormuz.

The disruption is forcing crude to be rerouted through longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope and ship-to-ship transfers near Hormuz, tying up about 15 percent of the world's VLCC fleet and raising freight costs to about $26 a barrel, a quarter of oil's value.

As a result, the average daily profit for VLCCs reached $651,107 on September 21, 2026, nearly double the week before, adding pressure to US gasoline prices ahead of November's midterm elections.