Iran and Ukraine wars: Why ship fuel is running short, and why it matters

The shipping industry, already heavily constrained by restrictions on transit through key waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz, faces another challenge stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran and Russia’s war on Ukraine: a shortage of fuel oil used by ships and power plants.The fuel used by ships powers the transport of large cargoes around the world. Any shortage of this fuel could drive up global freight costs, which could in turn affect consumers and manufacturers of goods and commodities.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US envoys hold ‘substantive’ talks with Zelenskyy in first visit to Kyivlist 2 of 3Iran touts military response as US maintains blockade, hits tankerslist 3 of 3Trump official says ‘there may not be a nuclear agreement’ with Iranend of listMost ships and oil tankers mainly use heavy fuel oil (HFO), commonly known as bunker fuel, to power their engines. This fuel is produced when crude oil is refined.Other commonly used marine fuels include marine gas oil (used by smaller vessels), marine diesel oil (used in marine engines) and less polluting fuels like very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).Why is ship fuel running low and why does it matter?Here’s wha...