VLCC Freight Rates Hit $650,000 a Day as the Iran War Reshapes Gulf Shipping

According to Oilprice.com's Julianne Geiger, citing Baltic Exchange data reported by Bloomberg, earnings on the benchmark Saudi Arabia to China VLCC (very large crude carrier) route surged to a record $647,000 a day on Thursday, 6 Shahrivar 1405 (August 27, 2026), more than ten times the rate a year earlier and about 27% above the $510,000 recorded just ten days before. The spike coincides with a rise in Persian Gulf oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said earlier in the week that moving a cargo through Hormuz now costs about $20 million, and the report said costs have climbed further since. Few tanker owners are willing to send vessels through the strait, forcing exporters to compete for the smaller pool willing to take the risk. A tanker traveling from Oman to China now commands roughly $220,000 a day, up from $131,000 a month ago. Traders estimate Hormuz outflows at 6 to 8 million barrels a day, while Goldman Sachs puts the flow at roughly two thirds of pre-war levels.