The Iran war sent tanker freight rates into overdrive: Daily earnings for supertankers on the Saudi Arabia-China route (TD3C) surged to a massive $1.4 million, truly unprecedented levels, as the conflict disrupted global oil shipping. The surge followed the near-total halt in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, making it increasingly difficult to assess actual shipping costs on the affected route. Meanwhile, brokers questioned whether reliable daily price assessments were still possible and called for its suspension. Despite the disruption, the Baltic Exchange continued publishing its key TD3C benchmark. Controversy intensified when the Baltic allowed brokers to use freight derivatives prices to help calculate the benchmark, raising concerns that a financial market tied to TD3C could influence the underlying physical shipping assessment. The oil shipping market is far less transparent than many investors realize.