Amid rising geostrategic tensions and increased maritime security risks in the Middle East, demand for crude oil extraction and transport out of Western Asia has surged sharply. As a result, oil tanker prices and annual charter (lease) rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2008.
Sea-news.az reports citing the Financial Times, that these figures were recorded by the British shipbroker Braemar.
In the largest vessel class (VLCCs—supertankers), the value of new-build and modern second-hand ships exceeded $130 million over the past quarter. At the same time, annual charter rates for supertankers have reached historic highs. Oil-exporting countries—particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq—are rapidly purchasing second-hand vessels to expand their fleets and ensure that supplies are not disrupted.
David Holland, head of sale and purchase at Braemar, noted that maintaining direct physical control over shipping assets is of vital strategic importance for Middle Eastern exporters. Meanwhile, it is reported that the US military’s coordinator group in the Middle East has established a special fighter-escorted transit route to ensure tankers can safely enter the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea via the Strait of Hormuz, load oil in regional countries, and exit without obstruction.
