Sources published an edition of Affinity Tanker Weekly dated 18 September 2026 reporting that very large crude carrier (VLCC) freight rates rose sharply this week, and that an escalation of regional conflict had reduced vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, Affinity Research LLP said.
The bulletin, which sources carried on 18 September 2026, summarised findings from Affinity Research LLP that VLCC rates had surged across the board during the reported week. The report linked that surge to disruptions in transit patterns caused by the escalating Middle East war, and it said that Strait of Hormuz transits had fallen.
Affinity Research LLP attributed the change in market dynamics to restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the report noted. reports reproduced the weekly summary, which presented the rate movement and the transit reduction as related developments in the tanker market for the week ending 18 September 2026.
Rising freight rates
Affinity Research LLP's weekly note, as carried by reports, described an across-the-board uptick in VLCC freight rates during the period under review. The report framed the rate strength in the context of constrained movements through a key regional waterway important to crude flows.
Transit patterns tightened
The bulletin said that the escalation of the Middle East war had restricted transits through the Strait of Hormuz, and that the number of transits had fallen during the reporting week. Sources published the summary on 18 September 2026, presenting Affinity Research LLP's assessment that curtailed movement was a primary factor behind the market reaction.
The report did not provide detailed voyage counts or specific rate levels in the summary carried by reports, but it positioned the transit decline and the rate rise as concurrent developments. Affinity Research LLP's observations were presented as the principal explanation for the short-term shift in tanker market conditions in that week's note.
Market participants and observers following the summary in reports will likely consider the weekly bulletin a prompt to reassess exposure to route congestion and regional security risk. The Affinity Tanker Weekly entry dated 18 September 2026 offered a concise snapshot indicating the week’s dominant influences on VLCC freight movements without supplying additional granular statistics in the summary published there.