The Iran war is reshaping the global oil shipping landscape, and a US oil trader is placing a rare, bold wager on it.

According to a Wednesday report by the Financial Times, Ben Morrow, CEO of Dallas-based PIF Energy, said the company is spending $2 billion to acquire a fleet of up to 15 older supertankers, aiming to transport crude from Iraq and Saudi Aramco through the Strait of Hormuz to refiners in India, Indonesia, and Europe.

The move comes as a global diesel shortage intensifies and tanker freight rates soar to historic extremes, underscoring the market's acute hunger for scarce shipping capacity. Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg data, the cost of chartering a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) to ship US crude to Asia has risen to $77 million, compared with a 2025 full-year average of just $9.2 million.

For investors, this bet reflects the structural distortions in the current tanker market: secondhand ship prices are rarely surpassing newbuild prices, surging freight rates are feeding downstream inflation, and political pressure on the Trump administration to suppress diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections is profoundly influencing the direction of energy supply chain restructuring.

Freight Rates Surge, Older Tankers See Values Soar

Since the outbreak of the Iran war, transit risks in the Strait of Hormuz have deterred a large number of shipowners, effectively compressing global tanker supply by a wide margin. Middle East crude exports had recovered to nearly 11.9 million barrels per day by early October, but trade procedures are far more complex than before the war, with shipping times greatly extended, further squeezing effective capacity.

The supply-demand imbalance in the market has directly driven up vessel asset values. According to shipbroker Clarksons, the average price of a 15-year-old VLCC is about $160 million, up 44% from three months ago and already higher than the $131 million newbuild price — a phenomenon in which secondhand ship prices exceed newbuild prices is extremely rare in the industry. Meanwhile, the monthly salary for captains willing to navigate the strait has reached as high as $100,000, and daily charter rates for supertankers on Middle East routes briefly hit a historic high of $1.3 million.

The broader shipping index also confirms the breadth of this rally. According to shipping industry data cited from Clarksons, the ClarkSea Index had set historic highs for four consecutive weeks as of October 2, reaching $75,658 per day, a monthly gain of 73%, with the year-to-date average up 66% year-on-year and 84% above the 10-year average. Notably, this rally is not driven by tankers alone — LNG carriers, dry bulk vessels, container ships, and car carriers are all simultaneously at "exceptional or strong" levels.

PIF Energy's "Unconventional" Bet

Ben Morrow characterizes the investment as an "unconventional commercial opportunity." He said PIF Energy (the name derives from "Pay It Forward") primarily engaged in crude trading for Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) before the war, and expects to trade about 25 million barrels of Iraqi crude in October, making it one of the country's important crude traders.

Unlike the historical convention where traders typically charter vessels rather than own assets, Morrow chose to buy a fleet outright. He said the fleet will receive escort guidance from a "Tier One security team" authorized by the US government. In response, a US Central Command spokesperson said the command has not provided PIF Energy with "any specialized support," and is only "providing coordinated protection for commercial vessels in transit, in accordance with previous statements."

Morrow acknowledged that the deal requires "perfect insurance arrangements, perfect banking arrangements, and security guarantees" to work, and said it is not just a commercial act but about "keeping oil flowing and truly helping the world." He himself went bankrupt six years ago and subsequently founded this family-style trading company.

Washington's Political Calculus and Iraq's Real Dilemma

Behind this investment is the Trump administration's urgent need to suppress inflation ahead of the midterm elections. Rising diesel prices are hitting the industrial and agricultural sectors, while the combined effects of the Iran war and the Ukraine conflict continue to disrupt global diesel supply.

Against this backdrop, the US oil industry has pressured the government to push relevant parties to expand diesel exports to ease the global shortage. An industry figure familiar with the discussions said, "Relevant parties have a role to play in boosting diesel exports and replenishing supply to the market." Morrow also said he believes China will gradually increase refined product exports and described it as a "key hub" for the global refining shortage.

Iraq's position is more passive. Lacking its own tanker fleet, Iraq has had to offer significant discounts to buyers to maintain crude sales. Trump met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House in July, praising him for "doing an excellent job" and saying Iraq has "tremendous potential" due to its oil resources. Meanwhile, US companies are accelerating their push into Iraq's energy sector — Chevron is in advanced talks to build a pipeline to Syria, and Dallas-based private energy company HKN Energy has signed an agreement to develop the Hamrin oil field.