A supertanker was recently chartered to sail from the U.S. Gulf Coast to China for $76 million, a source familiar told CNBC, as shipping costs soar globally due to the crisis in the Middle East.
The Alexandros was chartered by the trading firm Trafigura and is expected to load around Nov. 19, the source said. A normal rate for the route based on pre-war levels would be $7 million to $10 million.
The cost of the journey comes to $38 per barrel of oil assuming the tanker holds 2 million barrels. Shipping costs have exploded as the war in the Persian Gulf has led to a shortage of available tankers.
The Middle East producers are using a shuttle system to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz. A loaded tanker crosses the strait and then loads the oil onto another ship in the Gulf of Oman that takes the cargo to Asia.
This system reduces the exposure to Iranian attack and has led to a rebound of crude exports through Hormuz. But it also requires a lot more ships to get the oil out of the Gulf.