Oil Shippers Pause Offers to Middle East as Conflict Intensifies

Some oil tanker owners and managers have paused offering their vessels for Middle Eastern routes since Friday as they assess the risks from Israel’s conflict with Iran, fueling concerns over export flows from the region.

Producers and traders trying to book ships to load crude oil and fuel from the Persian Gulf have been met with few offers, said shipbrokers and charterers, who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Meanwhile, some owners with tankers that had been provisionally chartered as of Friday, pending confirmation of the booking, have chosen not to extend the agreements into the weekend, one of them said.