Persian Gulf tanker rates nearly double in a week; some supertankers' daily earnings approach $470,000

The renewed escalation between the US and Iran and the higher risk of transiting the Strait of Hormuz have sharply lifted crude-tanker freight rates in the Persian Gulf. According to shipping-market reports in the week ending July 17, 2026, the cost of hiring a tanker in the Gulf nearly doubled in just one week, from around $106,000 per day to more than $190,000.

For some very large crude carriers (VLCCs) moving cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz, daily earnings have approached about $470,000. A steep drop in the number of ships willing to transit the region, together with surging war-risk insurance premiums, has tightened available shipping capacity.

Higher freight costs raise the cost of exporting oil for Persian Gulf producers, including Iran, eating into part of the windfall from higher crude prices.