Oil rises above $100 as attacks on ships hit new high, amid reports Trump is discussing launching strikes before the US midterms
A tanker sailing off the north coast of Qatar has been attacked, causing an unknown number of casualties, a British maritime security agency said. The attack came as Iran declared it would close a route in the strait of Hormuz being used to circumvent Tehran’s blockade of traffic.
The vessel was in the Gulf, about 500km (300 miles) west of the strait of Hormuz, when it reported being struck “by multiple projectiles”, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday. The UK authority did not specify the origin of the ship.
Wednesday’s attack comes as strikes on tankers sailing through the strait of Hormuz hit their highest weekly level since the Iran war began, according to maritime security firms, as oil prices to climbed above $100 per barrel.
Wut? I was told that no one will try to cross the strait when it’s closed because the risk and insurance costs are too high. Is the oil price high enough now to risk lives of sailors and damage to the ships?
Oil prices aren’t the specific metric affecting the go/no go decision for captains. The tanker daily rate is, and currently tankers are making ~1.4M/day to transit the strait. Ship owners are offering crews 6+ months of salary as bonuses for transiting the strait
That seems like a pretty good deal considering Iran’s targeting seems pretty precise and not too many people have been killed in their boat strikes.
Haven’t you heard, the US secretary of state Marco Rubio said it’s open.
“There’s almost as much oil flowing out now as there was before this conflict began.” he said.
You see, in the US, 5-11% is almost as much as 100%.
I wouldn’t put too much faith in random AI slop sites
Rubio’s quote came on a day that had a high oil throughput. I believe it was the day before the Houthis retook control over the bab al mandeb, which accounted for a third of the redirected Hormuz oil. That AI site doesn’t ever seem to mention anything about how much oil is rediredtes to other distribution channels
The situation is rather bleak for anyone hoping for low oil prices, but it is a nuanced and ever changing situation
If you’re Kuwait, yes. Gulf States have been facing economic ruin and have been operating shadow fleets to sneak oil through the strait. The YouTube channel “What’s going on with shipping?” has been reporting on it.
That’s really interesting, the kind of information you would expect the mainstream media to report, but always fail to do.
It has unfortunately been politicized in the discussion about whether the US was right to declare war on Iran or not.