# Tankers, barges and fuel trucks: Unit economics

How war turned USD 2 freight into USD 36 a barrel

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/economics/

What this tab covers What it costs to move a unit of energy this way: capital and operating costs, tariffs, utilisation and how it compares with the alternatives.

In a normal market a VLCC earns about USD 80,000 to 100,000 a day, roughly USD 2 a barrel from the Gulf to China, or about USD 0.1 per MWh per 1,000 km. In 2026 war pushed day rates past USD 1 million.

#### Key costs

| Measure | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| **VLCC day rate, normal market** | 80,000 to 100,000 USD per day^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) | About USD 2 per barrel Gulf to China (analyst estimate, early 2026) |
| **VLCC day rate, March 2026** | 420,000 to 440,000 USD per day^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) | About USD 9 per barrel (analyst estimate) |
| **VLCC record day rate, Gulf to Asia** | about 1.1 million USD per day^[25](https://theprint.in/economy/1-million-a-day-oil-tankers-cost-of-hiring-oil-tankers-has-spiralled-amid-west-asia-crisis/3048529/) | September 2026, against a 20-year average of USD 29,900 (Bloomberg) |
| **VLCC freight, Middle East Gulf to Asia** | about 36 USD per barrel^[26](https://boereport.com/2026/10/14/record-oil-tanker-rates-put-pressure-on-asian-refiners-iea-says/amp/) | Early October 2026, more than five times the pre-war cost (IEA, via Reuters) |
| **Extra cost of a Hormuz round trip** | about 20 million USD per VLCC^[5](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/august/totalenergies-profitably-moving-heavily-discounted-oil-through-strait-of-hormuz) | TotalEnergies CEO, August 2026; about USD 10 per barrel |
| **Cost per MWh per 1,000 km, VLCC, normal market** | about 0.1 USD/MWh per 1,000 km^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) | USD 2 per barrel over about 11,000 km at 1.7 MWh per barrel (calculated) |
| **New VLCC price** | about 120 million USD^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) | Analyst estimate, 2026 |

#### Where the money goes

| Item | Share or amount |
|---|---|
| **Fuel** | 600 to 700 barrels a day; at an assumed USD 80 per barrel about USD 50,000 a day, a large share of a normal-market rate (calculated)^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) |
| **Capital** | a USD 120 million ship needs about USD 2 per barrel on Gulf to China voyages for a 7 to 10% return (analyst estimate)^[4](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) |
| **War-risk insurance and delay** | the dominant extra cost in 2026; about USD 20 million per Hormuz round trip^[5](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/august/totalenergies-profitably-moving-heavily-discounted-oil-through-strait-of-hormuz) |

Ships trade for two decades or more (22% of crude tankers are over 20 years old). Earnings swing wildly because ship supply is fixed in the short run while tonne-mile demand jumps whenever routes lengthen. At normal rates freight is small next to the oil's value; in 2026 it became a meaningful part of the delivered price. Rail moved US crude for USD 10 to 15 a barrel in 2012 (EIA, dated).

#### Sources

1. [Oil tankers: the economics (analyst model, updated 26 March 2026)](https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/oil-tankers-the-economics/) Thunder Said Energy, 2026
2. [TotalEnergies profitably moving heavily discounted oil through Strait of Hormuz](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/august/totalenergies-profitably-moving-heavily-discounted-oil-through-strait-of-hormuz) Pipeline and Gas Journal, 2026
3. [USD 1 million a day oil tankers: cost of hiring oil tankers has spiralled (Javier Blas, Bloomberg Opinion)](https://theprint.in/economy/1-million-a-day-oil-tankers-cost-of-hiring-oil-tankers-has-spiralled-amid-west-asia-crisis/3048529/) ThePrint, 2026
4. [Record oil tanker rates put pressure on Asian refiners, IEA says (Reuters)](https://boereport.com/2026/10/14/record-oil-tanker-rates-put-pressure-on-asian-refiners-iea-says/amp/) BOE Report, 2026

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/correlation/index.md)
- [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/explain/index.md)
- [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/efficiency/index.md)
- [Technology advances](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/advances/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/valuechain/index.md)
- [Geopolitics and regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/geopolitics/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/links/index.md)