LSEG data revealed that the cost of hiring a'very large crude carrier' to transport a?2,000,000 barrels a day from the?Middle East into?China on Thursday exceeded $200,000 a daily for the first since 2020.

On the Worldscale industry measurement used to calculate freight rates, it rose to W218.52?or $206.141 per day. This is the highest rate since April 2020. The data revealed that it?has almost quadrupled since the beginning of the year. The'surge in oil transportation costs' is due to increased crude exports out of the Middle East, as traders have been accelerating charters ahead a possible conflict between Iran and the U.S. This will likely reduce the profits of Asian refiners.

Sources in the industry say that South?Korean Shipping Group Sinokor's VLCC purchasing spree has supported freight rates.

According to a shipbroker, who declined to give his name due to company policy, Bahri, Saudi Arabia's largest oil shipper, has chartered three VLCCs to load crude on March 11-13, at W190-191 level.

Bahri did not respond immediately to a comment request. Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman & Barbara Lewis

(source: Reuters)