Key oil freight rates from the Middle East to Asia rocketed as much as 28% on Friday in a global oil shipping market spooked by United States sanctions on units of Chinese giant COSCO for alleged involvement in ferrying crude out of Iran. In what the State Department called “one of the largest sanctions actions the U.S. has taken” since curbs were re-imposed on Iran in November last year, two units of COSCO were named alongside other companies in claims of involvement in sanctions-busting shipments of Iranian oil.[ The surprise move, affecting one of the world’s largest energy shippers operating more than 50 supertankers, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to exert maximum pressure on Iran to drop nuclear programs. As […]