Conflict Zones Raise Oil Shipping Risk and Costs
Oil and gas operators must budget for longer routings, higher freight costs, and crew-safety planning on exposed lanes.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Oil and Gas
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Tsakos Energy Navigation founder Nikolas Tsakos told the NAMEPA annual conference in New York on October 29, 2026, that 30 seafarers have been killed in the region this year. Shipping operators moving oil and gas through conflict zones are seeing sharply higher risk and routing costs.
Why it matters
Shipping companies now spend more effort mapping safe zones away from conflict than on routine commercial and operational planning. Instability from the Russia-Ukraine war, the October 7 events, and the later war in Iran has compounded pressure on maritime energy transport.
The Baltic Exchange TD6 route rate swung from minus $126 to $200,000 per day within a week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. TEN reports moving 550 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent this year, while about 11,000 seafarers were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
The players
Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN)
A shipping company led by founder and chief executive Nikolas Tsakos that carries oil and gas by sea on its own vessels.
NAMEPA
The industry conference organizer whose annual New York event featured Tsakos's remarks on the theme Balancing Commerce & Conservation.
Baltic Exchange
The London-based shipping exchange that publishes the TD6 index, a benchmark for tanker route rates.
The details
Tsakos Energy Navigation transports oil and gas by sea on its own vessels, so conflict-driven route changes flow directly into voyage planning and freight costs. Operators have had to reroute ships away from danger zones, which lengthens voyages and ties up tonnage. Tsakos said the seafarer death toll doubles when losses in the Black Sea, Baltic, and Mediterranean are included.
Timeline
February 2022: Russia invaded Ukraine, and the TD6 index spiked within a week.
October 7 (2023): Events added further instability to the shipping region.
October 29, 2026: Tsakos delivered his keynote at the NAMEPA conference in New York.
Market Landscape
The sharp TD6 move after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine showed how quickly conflict can reprice tanker routes. Operators now face repeated episodes of that volatility across several regions at once.
Operators moving oil and gas should budget for longer routings, higher war-risk and freight costs, and additional crew-safety planning on conflict-exposed lanes. Procurement and chartering teams should track route-rate indices such as the TD6 for near-term cost signals.
The takeaway
Treat conflict-zone routing as a standing cost line rather than a temporary spike, and build it into freight and insurance assumptions. Track weekly TD6 movements and your own voyage-diversion costs as the early indicator of whether that pressure is easing.
Further reading
For broader context on how these shipping pressures reach producers and buyers, explore the Oil and Gas section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Η Ναυτεμπορική.
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