The benchmark freight rate for Very Large Crude Carriers from the Middle East to China jumped nearly 19% on Friday after the United States imposed sanctions on two shipping units under China's COSCO, shipping and trade sources said.
The freight rate for a supertanker on the route jumped 11-12 Worldscale points to about 75 points, the sources said.
The United States imposed sanctions on the tanker subsidiaries of China's COSCO, one of the world's largest fleet owners.
Shipping sources said up to 50 tankers could be affected by the sanctions imposed on the various entities including the COSCO subsidiaries.