Persian Gulf Crude Transfers Shift to India's Gulf of Kutch as Hormuz Congestion Drives Tanker Rates Above $1 Million/Day

Persian Gulf oil producers are relocating ship-to-ship (STS) crude transfers to the Gulf of Kutch off western India as waters outside the Strait of Hormuz become congested, Bloomberg-reported tanker-tracking data show. Two supertankers recently completed STS transfers onto very large crude carriers (VLCCs) in the area, with receiving vessels now bound for Singapore and South Korea — the first eastbound Gulf crude transfers observed there since the Iran war began seven months ago. The shift reflects maritime disruption caused by the conflict, with delayed and diverted shipments pushing supertanker charter costs above $1 million per day and adding to crude and refined fuel price pressures. Middle East exporters had relied on covert STS shuttle operations near Oman and the UAE, but those routes are increasingly strained, compounded by Houthi threats to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea backup export route. Vortexa estimates regional STS capacity may have hit its limit, with fully laden VLCC transfers now taking five to six days — the primary source of shipping delays. Transfers off India's west coast offer added security, though Iranian officials warned last week the war could expand toward the Indian Ocean.