The purpose of very large crude carriers(原油运输船) (vlccs), which hold 2m barrels of oil, requires little explanation. The very large cost of chartering(租用，包租) one at the moment requires more. The Gulf war has hit oil production, yet rates are “far beyond anything in the history of tankers”, says Greg Miller of Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a trade publication.(海湾战争打击了石油生产，然而运价“远超油轮历史上的任何水平”，行业刊物《劳氏日报情报》的格雷格·米勒表示。) At around $650,000, the average daily spot rate(即期费率) is over six times more than in January and nearly three times more than at the start of September. A handful of vessels traversing the treacherous(危险的，暗藏危机的) Strait of Hormuz are fetching over $1m a day.
超大型原油运输船（VLCC）可装载200万桶石油，其用途无需多言。但目前租用一艘这样的船所需的高昂成本，则需要更多解释。海湾战争打击了石油生产，然而运价“远超油轮历史上的任何水平”，行业刊物《劳氏日报情报》的格雷格·米勒表示。平均日租金约为65万美元，是1月份的六倍多，也是9月初的近三倍。少数穿越危险重重的霍尔木兹海峡的船只，日租金超过100万美元。
The reason is that although more oil is coming out of the Gulf on ships and through pipes than a few weeks ago, its way to market is riven(充满，被撕裂) with inefficiencies. “Hormuz is the rate driver(运价驱动因素),” says Mr Miller. A shuttle service of Gulf-owned vlccs, protected by the us Navy, is bringing oil through the strait for transfer to vlccs anchored off Oman owned by firms not prepared to risk that journey.(一支由海湾国家拥有的VLCC组成的穿梭船队，在美国海军的保护下，将石油运过海峡，再转运到停泊在阿曼附近、属于不愿冒险走那条航线的公司的VLCC上。) Around 15% of the global vlcc fleet is at Oman, much of it awaiting cargoes that take two to three days to swap over(交换，换装).
原因在于，尽管通过船只和管道从海湾运出的石油比几周前更多，但其通往市场的道路却充满了低效。“霍尔木兹是运价的驱动因素，”米勒表示。一支由海湾国家拥有的VLCC组成的穿梭船队，在美国海军的保护下，将石油运过海峡，再转运到停泊在阿曼附近、属于不愿冒险走那条航线的公司的VLCC上。全球VLCC船队中约有15%在阿曼，其中许多正在等待货物，换装需要两到三天。
To the west, the threat to shipping from Yemen’s Houthis(也门胡塞武装，伊朗支持的什叶派反政府武装) at the mouth of the Red Sea means that vlccs taking oil from the Saudi port of Yanbu farther up the coast are heading in the opposite direction, towards the Suez Canal. Because they are too big to go through the canal fully laden, the oil is offloaded, piped across Egypt and reloaded onto vlccs in the Mediterranean for the long voyage to Asia round the Cape of Good Hope.(由于它们满载时太大，无法通过运河，石油被卸下，通过管道穿越埃及，再重新装载到地中海的VLCC上，绕好望角长途运往亚洲。) The recent closure of the East-West pipeline to Yanbu after a drone attack(无人机袭击) is likely to mean shuttling more oil via Hormuz, keeping capacity tight(使运力保持紧张).
在西边，也门胡塞武装在红海入口对航运构成的威胁，意味着从更沿海的沙特延布港装油的VLCC正驶向相反方向，前往苏伊士运河。由于它们满载时太大，无法通过运河，石油被卸下，通过管道穿越埃及，再重新装载到地中海的VLCC上，绕好望角长途运往亚洲。最近，东西向输油管道在无人机袭击后关闭，很可能意味着更多石油要经霍尔木兹海峡穿梭运输，使运力保持紧张。