600 Hormuz Oil Tankers Need 150,000-Square-Foot Hull Cleanings as War Delays Crude Flows
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 23
600 Hormuz Oil Tankers Need 150,000-Square-Foot Hull Cleanings as War Delays Crude Flows
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 23
Summary
About 600 oil tankers stranded around the Strait of Hormuz after months of war must clear heavy biofouling before they can sail, adding a fresh bottleneck to restarting global oil shipments.
Each supertanker has roughly 150,000 square feet of hull to scrape; teams of five to six divers need about four to five hours per vessel, with propellers and intake systems posing extra problems.
The cleanup matters because barnacles, mussels and algae sharply cut fuel efficiency, can disable cooling systems and violate port, ecological and insurance rules if ships arrive uncleared.
Bottom-cleaning crews have lifted prices by several thousand dollars to five-figure sums per ship, but cleaning is only one hurdle before crude moves again.
Iran now requires companies to register to transit the strait, while minesweeping, financing and insurance approvals still stand between the ceasefire and a full oil-flow recovery.