oil exit from Hormuz or launching a spacecraft to the moon; Which one costs more?

Despite Trump's claims about the opening of Hormuz, the reality of the market shows that the price of oil is still at a high level.

Ambassador Arjan: Despite Trump's claims about the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the reality of the market shows that the price of oil has remained at a high level, a fact that is linked to the great difficulties of getting Persian Gulf oil out of the Strait of Hormuz:

1- Oil leaving Hormuz is more expensive than traveling to the moon: The fact that the cost of transporting oil from the Persian Gulf is more expensive than traveling to the moon is neither an exaggeration nor a joke, but the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz wrote in a report that the cost of transporting an oil tanker is now more than the cost of launching a SpaceX rocket.

2- How is transporting Persian Gulf oil more expensive than traveling to the moon? A Bloomberg report shows that the cost of transporting an oil shipment from the United States to China has reached $80 million, while the cost of launching SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is $74 million. Based on this report, the daily rental of tankers in the Persian Gulf to transport oil to China has reached 1.3 million dollars, and the value of second-hand tankers is estimated at 240 million dollars. The daily income of some oil tankers is reported to be 680,000 dollars and the cost of transporting oil has also increased 9 times.

3- Why did the cost of transporting oil increase? Based on media reports, under the influence of the results of the American war against Iran, crossing the Persian Gulf is no longer a normal trade route. The Financial Times reported on October 7, last week, that tanker war insurance may cost up to $20 million; The salary of the captains has also reached 100 thousand dollars per month, in addition to the bonus of 50 thousand dollars per passage.

4- Prolonging the oil transportation route: On the other hand, the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz after its complete control by Iran has increased the oil transportation by intermediary ships and the cost of cargo transfer operations from one tanker to another. According to Sparta Commodities (an international energy and commodity market information and data analysis company), these inefficient operations and increased oil exports from the Atlantic basin to Asia have reduced the fleet's spare capacity. The cost of transporting a barrel from America to Asia has increased from $8.60 before the war to about $40; An increase of nearly 4.7 times.

5- 43-fold increase in the cost of renting an oil tanker: in fact, it can be said that despite the continued movement of oil in the region, the cost of transporting it has increased greatly; So that according to the data of the brokerage and analysis of the oil market "Putten and Partners" published on October 5, 2026, the daily rental rate of giant oil tankers on the route from the Persian Gulf to East Asia has reached more than 1 million dollars; While this figure was around 30 thousand dollars at the beginning of the year and shows an increase of nearly 43 times.

6- $33 increase in the cost of transportation per barrel: the cost of transportation alone has added nearly $33 to the price of a barrel of oil. Increasing security threats, a shortage of standby tankers, and multi-stage cargo transfers on alternative routes have made oil exports still possible, but at a much higher cost to producers and buyers.

7- Increase in tanker insurance premiums and the cost of supplying oil in the Asian market: The Hormuz crisis has not only increased the cost of transportation, but has also increased the purchase price of alternative cargoes. Reuters reported on October 12, 2026 that several Asian refiners, including Chinese and Indian buyers, had bought at least 12 million barrels of Saudi oil for November delivery in cash; Some of these shipments have been offered for about 20 dollars more than the official selling price. This means that even if an alternative route for oil is found, buyers will have to pay more to guarantee energy supply, and the pressure caused by the maritime crisis will also be transferred to the oil purchase market.

8- Global oil price surge despite continued exports: US Energy Information Administration statistics show that the average spot price of Brent oil reached $114 per barrel in September 2026; $23 more than a month ago. Attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers, including a temporary disruption of Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline, have weighed on the market, the agency said. Therefore, even when some oil is exported through alternative routes, infrastructure vulnerabilities and uncertainty about supply continuity can keep global oil prices high.