en.Wedoany.com Reported - Since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, VLCC exports from the Middle East Gulf have plummeted, while long-haul voyages from the Atlantic Basin to Asia have increased ton-miles, with both factors intertwining.
According to Vortexa data, global seaborne crude and condensate exports averaged 36.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in the eight weeks ending May 3, down 6.8 million b/d or 16% from the pre-war average between January 2025 and February 2026. The decline was even steeper in the VLCC segment, where global VLCC crude exports averaged 14.4 million b/d, down 8.1 million b/d or 36% from pre-war levels, equivalent to the loading capacity of four VLCCs per day. The VLCC share of seaborne crude exports fell from 52% pre-war to 40%.
Meanwhile, the supply side is affected by capacity constraints. DHT CEO Svein Moxnes Harfjeld stated in a conference call on Wednesday that approximately 57 VLCCs are trapped inside the Strait. He noted, "About 10% of the VLCC fleet is tied up, either waiting to leave the Gulf or waiting to load from the Yanbu export facility in western Saudi Arabia."
Increased voyage distances have absorbed some of the available capacity. Over the past eight weeks, Atlantic-to-Pacific voyages accounted for 35% of VLCC crude export volumes, compared to just 22% pre-war. The distance from Galveston, Texas, to Ningbo, China, is 2.6 times that from Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, to Ningbo. In the week ending April 26, driven by releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Atlantic VLCC exports reached 8.1 million b/d.
As a combined result, VLCC spot rates have stabilized at around $100,000 per day, double the level seen in the same period last year. The Baltic Exchange's U.S. Gulf-to-China index was $91,731 per day on Wednesday, while the West Africa-to-China index stood at $99,407 per day.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
