Shipping costs for very large crude carriers (VLCC) serving the Persian Gulf have risen to an all-time high of US$423 736 overnight by 1pm (CAT) on Tuesday, compared to Monday’s price of $205 600, CNBC reports.
Monday’s build-up of an estimated 170 merchant vessels on either side of the Strait of Hormuz was also rapidly escalating, with S&P Global tracking 240 commercial ships in the immediate vicinity at the time of posting.
The financial data and analytics company reported that most of the vessels were either stationed near the Iranian Port of Bandar Abbas or at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah on the Persian Gulf.
Commodities consultancy Kpler Analytics reported that 706 non-Iranian VLCCs were waiting on either side of the Strait.
Reuters reported that at least 150 tankers were anchored in Gulf waters beyond the Strait, while dozens were stationary in the Gulf of Oman.
According to S&P Global, no product or crude tankers had arrived at scheduled destinations in the Persian Gulf on Monday following the weekend’s military assault by the US and Israel on Iran.
Lloyd's List reported just 23 total transits on Monday, of which 21 were eastbound – a decrease of 81% on immediate past volumes.
Whereas military attacks by Iran on maritime traffic in the Strait remained unconfirmed by Monday, the sharp drop-off in vessel transits through the Strait stems from Iran unequivocally stating on March 2 that any ship movement will be targeted.
News aggregator Actually Relevant reported that Brigadier General Sardar Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had told Iranian state media: “The heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze.”
The statement was widely carried by Reuters, Hindustan Times and Indian media conglomerate, Network18 Group.
