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Shipping Crisis Forces Asian Crude Buyers to Use Smaller Tankers

Record-high freight costs are changing the behavior of Asian buyers who are increasingly using smaller tankers and ships under long-term charter deals to pick crude oil supply, refining and trading sources tell Reuters. The costs of shipping crude oil have soared to record highs in recent weeks as the Iran war reshuffled trade routes and patterns and tied up more supertankers in inefficient and lengthy voyages and on a shuttle service to move crude through the Strait of Hormuz. The increased oil flows from the Strait of Hormuz, mostly thanks to…