India's Reliance Pays Record $25 Million to Charter Tanker for Iraqi Crude

India's Reliance Industries has agreed to pay a record $23 million to $25 million to charter a supertanker to carry two million barrels of Iraqi crude, three shipping sources told Reuters, according to a report carried by Shafaq News on Thursday, August 6, 2026. The rate, at 1,200 World Scale, is roughly twelve times the benchmark freight rate. Before the US Iran war began in late February, similar voyages typically cost around $2 million, or 0.8 to 0.9 times the benchmark rate. The tanker is being supplied by South Korea's Sinokor, one of the few shipowners still operating through the Strait of Hormuz despite growing security risks. Sources said Reliance is still expected to save millions of dollars because Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO is offering crude at discounts of $25 to $30 a barrel against Dubai benchmarks. SOMO figures showed Iraq earned $18.679 billion from exporting 268.1 million barrels of crude in the first half of 2026, compared with more than 606 million barrels exported in the same period of 2025.