The cost of hiring a very large crude carrier to move US crude to Asia hit $77 million last week, up from a 2025 average of $9.2 million, Bloomberg reported. For a 2-million-barrel cargo, that works out to about $38.50 a barrel in shipping costs.
The surge comes as attacks on tankers spread inside the Persian Gulf. Projectiles hit two tankers in three days last week, one off Qatar and another anchored off the UAE, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The anchored vessel caught fire about 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera, UAE. Maritime security analyst Martin Kelly said the Qatar strike was the first reported Iranian attack on a ship inside the Gulf since early September.
Two more tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Their crews were safe. UKMTO counted 11 attacks on shipping in the week to Oct. 7, 10 of them in the Strait.
Just seven commodity vessels crossed the Strait on one day last week, the lowest daily total since late July, according to Kpler. Before the war began in February, about 125 large commercial vessels crossed daily. Middle East crude exports have held near pre-war levels, helped by shipments from the Gulf of Oman coast and the Red Sea, which have more than doubled, analysts told Reuters.
US on-highway diesel, the benchmark used for most truck fuel surcharges, fell for a second straight week to $6.199 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. That remains $2.49 above the year-earlier level. The next weekly price is due Oct. 14.
