The Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (NYSE:BWET) has surged 3,440% year to date, driven by concentrated exposure to forward freight agreements on Middle East Gulf-China routes and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The fund provides exposure to near-dated crude tanker freight futures rather than primarily holding tanker stocks or crude futures, with roughly 90% allocated to VLCC contracts and 10% to Suezmax contracts. Its average futures maturity is approximately 50 to 70 days. A shortage of available supertankers has pushed Houston-to-Asia shipping costs to about $26 a barrel, or roughly $52 million for a full cargo, while VLCCs on the Persian Gulf-China route earn more than $1.2 million a day. Reuters said VLCC spot rates exceeded $500,000 a day, compared with roughly $132,000 in February. The ETF remains highly volatile, with freight costs also squeezing physical oil margins. Earlier coverage had put BWET's year-to-date gain at roughly 3,800%, creating a discrepancy with the latest 3,440% figure.