Middle East Oil Tanker Shortage Raises Concerns Amid Regional Tensions

The number of available oil tankers in the Persian Gulf is rapidly decreasing, with only nine empty supertankers remaining, according to Jin10. Each of these vessels can carry approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil, equivalent to Saudi Arabia's production in about five hours. Once these tankers are filled, onshore storage tanks will quickly reach capacity, potentially leading to more oil field shutdowns. Recent reports indicate that Iran has followed through on its threats, using drones and missiles to attack several ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only regional oil producers capable of diverting crude oil through pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Both countries have been increasing exports from terminals outside the region, although neither has completely avoided reliance on the strait's shipping capacity.