Oil Tanker Booked in Persian Gulf at 897% of Benchmark Rate

(Bloomberg) — One of the world’s biggest operators of supertankers has provisionally booked a vessel to transport oil from the Persian Gulf to India at nearly nine times benchmark rates, a price that reflects the shortage of avalable ships in the area.

South Korean shipowner Sinokor will supply the vessel at 897 Worldscale points, or 897% of the freight benchmark, according to shipbrokers. The fee ranks as the highest so far this year, they added, asking not to be named as discussions are not public.

No dates, buyers or ports were mentioned in the provisional booking as