Oil supertankers in Gulf are renting for $500,000 per day: Report

Oil supertankers in Gulf are renting for $500,000 per day: Report Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 21:10 A fund that allows investors to bet on crude oil freight rates has surged more than 2,000 percent since the start of year In this picture, obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency and taken on 2 May 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker Bili is anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP) Off Supertanker owners are getting paid $510,000 per day to bring crude oil from the Gulf to Asia, in a sign of high demand for vessels to transit the waterway as fighting rages in the region and alternative routes take supply from the market. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that earnings from the Middle East-to-China route have jumped to their highest level since June. The rising figure suggests that demand for vessels is high and some are risking the threat of war to take profits.