NEW DELHI/LONDON: India's Reliance Industries has paid a record $23 million to $25 million to charter a supertanker to lift Iraqi crude, pointing to a limited pool of ships available in the Gulf and the soaring costs of every voyage, three shipping sources said.
Shipping traffic via the Strait of Hormuz, through which Iraq's seaborne oil must pass, is still well below the average of 125 to 140 vessels a day seen before the Iran war began at the end of February, putting further strain on buyers seeking to get cargoes out.
