Supertankers are abandoning voyages into the Persian Gulf as tensions at the Strait of Hormuz escalate. At least three very large crude carriers have diverted toward the Atlantic Basin, with vessels like the Plata Glory now bound for the Cape of Good Hope and the G. Hope heading for the US after initially planning Middle Eastern stops.

A third vessel, the Amantea, is also heading south toward the Cape, while the Karan has shifted from Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura terminal to the Red Sea's Yanbu facility. This redirection by Saudi Aramco aims to bypass the Gulf entirely. The region's producers are filling storage tanks as fewer tankers enter the Persian Gulf to collect cargoes.

The crisis has created a massive backlog, with over 60 empty VLCCs holding position or reducing speed thousands of miles south of India. This paralysis has sparked an intensifying scramble for available tonnage as traders seek non-Middle Eastern crude to keep global refineries operational, catapulting tanker rates to historic highs.