VLCC Charter Costs Surge to $1.2M Daily: TD3C Route Under Thermodynamic Stress
fleet-congestionA Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with a gross tonnage of 200,000-320,000 tons transports approximately two million barrels of crude oil per trip. In September 2026, the daily operating cost to charter this unit on the TD3C route (Persian Gulf to China) exceeded $1.2 million, a level that significantly outpaces the price of crude oil itself. This surge indicates that the constraint is no longer the availability of raw material, but the physical capacity to move it.
Read Report →