MR Tanker Freight From the US Gulf Doubles in a Month as the Iran War Breaks the Charter Market
Voyage freight on the US Gulf to Caribbean MR route has surged about 91 percent in 30 days, with Mediterranean LR2 and Middle East LR1 routes up 35-55 percent, as the Iran war ties tankers up in Gulf of Oman shuttle work and pushes Atlantic fixture levels to records.
Market Pulse Scope's tanker freight series show the sharpest moves anywhere on the platform. The US Gulf to Caribbean MR tanker voyage is assessed at roughly $1.50 million per voyage, up about 90.9 percent over the past 30 days, while the Mediterranean to East LR2 clean route has climbed 55.2 percent to about $12.0 million and the Middle East Gulf to UK Continent LR1 voyage stands near $16.28 million, up 35.3 percent over the same window.
The oilprice.com report of October 24 describes a crude tanker market that has effectively broken: a VLCC voyage from the US Gulf Coast to China peaked near $80 million earlier this month, roughly ten times the pre-war average, and still fetched about $60 million this week. Valero's crude supply team put the cost of moving a VLCC from the Gulf Coast to Asia at $30-35 per barrel against a 2025 average near $5, and Asian refiners cut November orders for US crude to about 25 million barrels, down roughly 50 percent from September and on track for the lowest volume in seven years.
Chinese broker commentary carried by cfi.cn on October 18 confirms the spillover into smaller tonnage: VLCC spot earnings held near $807,000 per day, Middle East to Far East fixtures exceeded $1.5 million per day, one-year timecharter rates topped $303,000 per day after an 11 percent weekly rise, and Suezmax and MR earnings strengthened in step as sanctions covering roughly 40 percent of the shadow fleet keep effective supply locked up.
With Gulf of Oman ship-to-ship transfers keeping an estimated 80 VLCCs in shuttle service and round voyages from Basrah to Sohar stretched to 23 days against an optimal 9-10, owners are withdrawing tonnage from shorter Atlantic trades. That scarcity is exactly what the MR, LR1 and LR2 assessments on the platform are now pricing, and freight remains the dominant variable in every Atlantic gasoline, diesel and LNG arbitrage.