SAUDI ARABIA – Britain’s last known shipment of jet fuel from the Middle East is due to arrive within 48 hours amid alarm over shortages within a week.
The consignment on the Libyan-flagged Maetiga vessel is expected to reach the UK from Saudi Arabia tomorrow, according to data providers Kpler and Vortexa.
No other tankers bound for the UK have made it through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked in response to the US-Israeli strikes. The UK is currently sourcing at least half its jet fuel from the Middle East amid a fall in domestic refining and a halt on Russian imports since the Ukraine invasion in 2022. Fears over the bottleneck are mounting as Brits start to feel the impact of the turmoil in pockets.
Diesel and petrol prices are running at the highest levels since 2022, and projections this morning suggest typical energy bills will increase by £288 in July when the cap next changes.
Food costs could also surge as fertiliser supplies are choked off and the region is a huge source of aluminium. Jet fuel was US$4.24 (£3.21) a gallon last Thursday, compared with US$2.50 (£1.89) just before the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran, according to the Airlines for America group.
Aviation analyst Alex Macheras, said the US Jet Fuel Index was up to 72 per cent in one month since the war began, which was ‘massively outpacing even Brent crude’s rise’.
About 40 per cent of Europe’s jet fuel comes via the Strait of Hormuz, which is nearly completely closed. The UK receives supplies direct from the Middle East, while additional supplies come in indirectly, especially via Belgium and the Netherlands.
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