# Freight Shock Closes U.S.-Asia Arbitrage for Gulf Crude By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/28913 Published: 2026-10-09T11:51:22.000Z Updated: 2026-10-09T11:51:22.000Z Section: Investing > November freight for a 2-million-barrel U.S. Gulf-to-China cargo reached $80 million as Asian refiners considered Middle Eastern and South American alternatives. Record tanker costs have closed the U.S.-Asia arbitrage window for Gulf crude, prompting Asian refiners to consider more Middle Eastern and South American supplies as vessel availability tightens. The assessed November freight cost for moving about 2 million barrels from the U.S. Gulf to China reached $80 million. At that level, shipping alone represents about $40 per barrel and makes the route uneconomic. A separate U.S. Gulf-to-Japan voyage carried a potential total fee of $82 million. The figure works out to more than $40 per barrel using a 2-million-barrel cargo and was more than 50% above its level three weeks earlier. Comparable Gulf-to-China freight costs had been $7 million to $10 million before the war. The latest assessments show how sharply higher tanker rates have changed the delivered cost of U.S. crude for Asian buyers. Asian refiners were considering additional Murban crude from the United Arab Emirates, along with other Middle Eastern and South American grades. Murban’s premium over Dubai quotes rose above $11 per barrel Thursday, Oct. 8. Persian Gulf-to-East Asia very large crude carrier (VLCC) rates reached nearly $1.4 million per day Wednesday, Oct. 7, extending the [shipping squeeze on the Gulf route](). The vessel shortage has been linked to tankers being used for ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz. That has reduced the number of available VLCCs and lifted freight costs across global energy shipping markets. The $82 million U.S. Gulf-to-Japan figure represented a potential total fee rather than a completed charter. ## Links in this article - [shipping squeeze on the Gulf route](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/28127)