Oil supertanker costs in the Middle East climbed to their highest level on record as conflict between the U.S. and Iran disrupts shipping through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

Major marine war risk providers have started to scrap cover for vessels operating in the Persian Gulf as the fallout from a sudden security shock hobbles key shipping routes in the region.

The benchmark freight rate for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) — used to ship 2 million barrels of oil from the Middle East to China — hit an all-time high of $423,736 per day on Monday, data from LSEG showed. That marked an increase of more than 94% from Friday’s close.

Alongside a significant jump in oil and gas prices, the stratospheric rise in the cost of hauling crude oil follows the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran over the weekend. The expanding conflict has resulted in the effective halt of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most important oil choke points, located in the gulf between Oman and Iran.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed and warned any vessel attempting to pass through the waterway would be attacked, state media reported. The claim has since been disputed by the U.S. military’s Central Command, CENTCOM, Fox News reported.

“Charterers in the VLCC segment stepped back from the market and avoided securing vessels as multiple incidents have led to increased threat levels around the strait of Hormuz, despite the waterway not being officially closed,” Sheel Bhattacharjee, head of freight pricing in Europe at Argus Media, told CNBC by email.

Oil producers in the Middle East have not yet announced a halt to any production or loading yet, and ports in the UAE, Oman and Kuwait remain operational, Bhattacharjee said, citing market sources.

“But most shipowners were avoiding transits through the strait of Hormuz after insurers cancelled the war risk coverage for vessels in certain areas of the region,” Bhattacharjee said.

It is estimated that roughly one-third of seaborne crude oil trade moves through the strategically important waterway, alongside 19% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows and 14% of global refined products trade, according to Argus Media.

Leading maritime insurers have canceled war risk cover for vessels operating in the Middle East over recent days, amid reports of attacks on multiple ships traversing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Alongside the New York-based American Club, marine insurers including Norway’s Gard and Skuld, Britain’s NorthStandard and the London P&I Club said they were scrapping war risk cover for ships in the region.

Adrian Beciri, CEO of DUCAT Maritime, a Cyprus-based logistics firm specializing in dry bulk, said the knock-on effects of the sprawling Middle East conflict were being felt across the globe.

“We were trying to hire a dry bulk vessel to carry our typical rice food supplies to West Africa, which is around the Cape of Good Hope. You would think that is a million miles away from the conflict zone,” Beciri told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.

“We actually lost the ship. Someone had paid 50% more than they typically would do to carry coal from Indonesia to the west coast of India. Why did that vessel attract such a high rate? The answer is because the vessel owner was uncertain of getting cargo from the Persian Gulf area,” he continued.

“So, the consequences are far and wide, and this is potentially a double whammy. If we’re looking at the Hormuz closing and the Suez effectively being tampered with by the Houthis, this could be quite significant — much like what we saw during the Covid era and the attacks that were happening there.”

Even if oil tankers are only temporarily blocked from the Strait of Hormuz, it can ratchet up global energy prices, raise shipping costs and create significant supply delays.

The Strait of Hormuz is also key for global container trade. Ports in this region, such as Jebel Ali and Khor Fakkan, are specialized transshipment hubs that serve as intermediary points in global networks.

Shipping giants, including MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM, have also issued fresh guidance, seeking to prioritize safety amid a deteriorating security situation.

Panama annulled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison in its official gazette Monday, transferring interim operations of the ports to Danish shipping giants A.P. Moller-Maersk and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co.

The notice formalized a Supreme Court ruling last month that the concessions for the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the Panama Canal, which Panama Port Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, had held for more than two decades, were unconstitutional.

The Panamanian government on Monday formally assumed control of the port facilities, including cranes, vehicles, computer systems and software under a decree aimed at ensuring uninterrupted operations until a new concession is awarded within 18 months.

Under the interim arrangement, APM Terminals, a unit of Maersk, will operate the Balboa port on the Pacific side of the canal, while MSC’s port operating subsidiary, Terminal Investment, will run the Cristobal port on the Atlantic side.

Shares of CK Hutchison fell 0.9% at the open Tuesday. The stock has climbed over 20% so far this year.

CNBC reached out to CK Hutchison, Panama Ports Company, Maersk and MSC for comment but did not receive a response by publication.

The simmering dispute has become a geopolitical flashpoint between Washington and Beijing, with Panama caught in the crossfire.

After U.S. President Donald Trump alleged last year that China was “running the Panama Canal,” CK Hutchison negotiated a $23 billion deal with a BlackRock-led consortium to sell its non-Chinese port assets. Beijing swiftly intervened, describing the sale as  “kowtowing” to American pressure and stalling the transaction.

The Hong Kong conglomerate has pushed back since the ruling last month and initiated arbitration proceedings against Panama. On Feb. 12, CK Hutchison said that “any steps” that Maersk or its subsidiary takes to operate the ports without its agreement will likely “result in legal recourse.”

Beijing also warned that the Central American country will “pay a heavy price both politically and economically” unless it changes course.

The Panama court’s ruling was seen as a major victory for the U.S., given that the White House has made blocking China’s influence over the global trade artery one of its top priorities.

China has reportedly directed state firms to halt talks over new projects in Panama and urged shipping companies to consider rerouting cargo through other ports, Bloomberg reported last week.

— CNBC’s Emily Chan contributed to this story.

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings has threatened legal action against Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk after Panamanian authorities tapped the group to temporarily take over operations of two strategic ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

In a statement on Thursday, CK Hutchison warned A.P. Moller-Maersk that “any steps” the Danish group or its subsidiary takes to operate the ports without its agreement will likely “result in legal recourse.” That’s according to CNBC’s translation of the Chinese statement.

The simmering dispute has become a geopolitical flashpoint between Washington and Beijing, with Panama caught in the crossfires.

After U.S. President Donald Trump alleged last year that China was “running the Panama Canal,” CK Hutchison negotiated a $23 billion deal with a BlackRock-led consortium to sell its non-Chinese port subsidiaries. Beijing swiftly intervened, describing the sale as  “kowtowing” to American pressure and stalling the transaction.

Tensions intensified last month when Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that the concession held by a CK Hutchison subsidiary to operate the two ports was “unconstitutional.” The company pushed back, saying it “strongly disagreed” with the ruling and launched arbitration proceedings against Panama.

CK Hutchison on Thursday also said it had notified Panama of the dispute under an investment protection treaty, saying it would pursue “all available recourse including additional national and international legal proceedings.”

APM Terminals, the Maersk subsidiary asked to take over the ports, reportedly said it was not party to the legal dispute and had only offered to step in temporarily “to mitigate the risks that could affect essential services for regional and global trade.”

Maersk shares fell over 3% in Copenhagen on Thursday.

The stakes around Panama ports have risen sharply this year. The Panama court’s ruling was seen as a major victory for the U.S., given that the White House has made blocking China’s influence over the global trade artery one of its top priorities.

China also directed state firms to halt talks over new projects in Panama and asked shipping companies to consider rerouting cargo through other ports, Bloomberg reported last week.

The standoff may prove more manageable for Washington than it appears, according to Reva Goujon, a director at advisory firm Rhodium Group. The U.S. retains significant leverage through its treaty with Panama, which could allow it to defend any intervention on national security grounds, she said.

But Beijing has claimed a partial victory, by derailing Washington’s initial plans to acquire CK Hutchison’s global port holdings outright, Goujon said.

China needs to make the U.S. “clawback in Panama as difficult as possible to avoid setting a precedent,” Goujon said, noting that Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco’s Chancay port in Peru — a key infrastructure investment by Beijing in Latin America — is also in U.S. crosshairs.

The U.S. has raised sovereignty concerns over the port of Chancay, a deep-water facility near Lima. In a post on X on Thursday, the U.S. State Department’s bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said Peru could be “powerless” to oversee the critical port which was “under the jurisdiction of predatory Chinese owners.”

The Panama canal — a crucial trade passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific – handles roughly 40% of all U.S. container traffic each year. CK Hutchison’s subsidiary, Panama Ports Co., has operated them since 1997 and received a 25-year agreement renewal in 2021.

The canal was built in the early 20th century by the U.S. which operated it for decades before handing full control to Panama in 1999.

Analysts expected the dispute to drag on, potentially straining U.S.-China relations, already frayed by one year of tariff tensions, Beijing’s tightened grip on rare earth exports, disputes over Taiwan and Washington’s restrictions on tech exports.

CK Hutchison said Thursday that the continued operation of the two ports “depends solely on actions of the Panama Supreme Court and the Panamanian State,” which it cannot control.