Gulf oil producers are rapidly securing tanker capacity to keep crude exports moving despite rising threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing prices for new and second-hand Very Large Crude Carriers above $130 million per vessel in the second quarter, the highest level since 2008, according to Financial Times reporting citing Braemar data. The United Arab Emirates is leading the effort: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company acquired six VLCCs and five large LNG carriers for $1.3 billion this month and has developed a shuttle-tanker system that loads crude inside the Persian Gulf before transporting it beyond the strait. Saudi Arabia, which is expanding its east-west pipeline to the Red Sea, is also expected to join the system. Twenty-nine tankers currently account for more than half of traffic through the strait, according to Vortexa. Oil prices have risen for four consecutive sessions, with WTI for October delivery above $84 a barrel and Brent near $92, as the Iran-US standoff continues. The UAE's decision to sever economic relations with Tehran, refinery utilization at its highest since 2019 and falling distillate inventories have added support, offsetting a 4.4 million-barrel increase in US crude inventories the previous week. Traffic through Hormuz remains well below normal, although Persian Gulf producers appear to be developing covert export methods, while the US military has recently established a transit corridor through the strait.