A supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of US crude to Japan in late November will cost 81 million dollars to charter, against an average of 9.1 million dollars for the same journey last year, Reuters reported. The freight alone works out to 40.50 dollars a barrel, about nine times last year’s rate, and more than 40 percent of the price of the oil itself at around 95 dollars a barrel, compared with about 7 percent on average in 2025, on LSEG data cited in the report.
The pass through is mechanical. Each 10 dollars a barrel of added shipping cost adds about 23 cents a gallon to gasoline, by an estimate from the Baker Institute cited by Reuters, which puts this voyage at roughly 80 cents a gallon above last year. Rates from the Middle East to Asia hit a record near 34 dollars a barrel this week, tanker owners have earned as much as 1.3 million dollars a day on Gulf to Asia round trips against a 2025 average of 55,000 dollars, and the International Energy Agency said record tanker rates are already squeezing Asian refiners’ profits.
Import dependent economies in Asia bear the heaviest cost, because longer routes, ship to ship transfers and war risk premiums tie up the very large crude carrier fleet and lift rates for smaller Suezmax and Aframax ships as well. Brokers quoted in the report expect rates to stay strong while crude demand exceeds available supply, and to fall quickly if the crude market loosens.