Crude oil shipping costs surge 258% in two months to $23.59 per barrel

Moving a barrel of crude oil from the Middle East to Asia now costs roughly $24, a figure that would have seemed absurd six months ago. The 258% spike in shipping costs over just two months represents one of the sharpest freight shocks the energy market has ever absorbed. The escalating US-Iran conflict, which intensified in late February 2026, has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a risk zone that tanker operators are pricing accordingly. A million dollars a day to move oil Very Large Crude Carriers, the supertankers that haul roughly 2 million barrels per voyage, are now earning more than $1 million per day on Persian Gulf routes. Specific daily rates have been reported at $1.035 million or higher, a threshold the industry had never previously breached. A single VLCC voyage from the US Gulf Coast to China recently hit a record $44.8 million. That works out to about $22.40 for every barrel on board, before you even factor in the cost of the oil itself. The benchmark Middle East Gulf-to-China route has seen freight rates climb to approximately $24 per barrel. Meanwhile, long-haul shipments from Houston to Asia are carrying a $26 premium. Freight costs now account for up to 25% of th...