HK Stock Market Move | COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation (01138) rises over 6% in the afternoon; Hormuz dark transit route opens up, VLCC freight rates jump again to a new high.

COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation (01138) rose over 6% in the afternoon. As of press time, it was up 5.92% at HK$21.48, with a turnover of HK$343 million. On the news front, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued multiple maritime advisories showing that a total of 6 vessels were successively attacked on the 11th in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby Gulf of Oman waters. The advisories showed that within the Strait of Hormuz waterway, 4 oil tankers were attacked by "unknown projectiles" while exiting the strait. As the risk of attacks near the Strait of Hormuz by Iran rises, more and more unladen supertankers are avoiding the Persian Gulf region. Guotai Haitong pointed out that VLCC freight rates have hit a new historical high again, and the extremely strong boom is significantly transmitting to smaller vessels. Since September, the Hormuz dark transit route has opened up, Middle East crude oil exports have continued to recover, and tanker operating efficiency has declined, driving oil shipping freight rates to surge and repeatedly hit new historical highs. Last week, VLCC freight rates jumped again to a new high, with the Middle East-Oman route TCE rising to US$910,000/day, and US Gulf and West Africa TCE surging to US$630,000-760,000/day.