Iran Is Attacking Tankers. Why Is the Oil Still Flowing?

Oil Ground Up host Rory Johnston welcomes Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, for an in-depth discussion of the rapidly changing oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, and the extraordinary costs now reshaping global oil markets.
Madani explains how TankerTrackers uses satellite imagery, vessel identification, and on-the-ground intelligence to track oil tankers operating with their AIS transponders switched off. With hundreds of vessels moving through increasingly opaque shipping routes, traditional tanker-tracking data may be missing critical barrels.The conversation examines how Saudi Arabia is adapting its export strategy between the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, why Iranian crude exports have largely stalled, and how tanker operators continue moving oil despite missile and drone attacks.
Rory and Samir also explore the explosion in tanker freight rates, the growing fragmentation of global oil markets, the challenges of restoring refined product supplies, and whether the upcoming U.S. midterm elections could mark another turning point in the conflict.