Oil ships cannot use two busy sea roads this month. One road is at Hormuz, and one road runs through the Red Sea. So those oil ships take a long way now: they go around Africa. That long way is stormy in winter, and the water turns cold in spring.
The long way costs time and money. One shipping specialist says each trip costs two more weeks. That cost now moves fuel prices up in Europe and Asia.
So many families pay more for monthly fuel and a monthly bus pass. Small companies there pay that cost too, and some cut their hours. This week, seven rich countries open their emergency oil storage.
Those tanks sit under the ground, and they hold oil for a hard year. The countries now send that storage oil to market, so the price can fall. That oil move stirs talk in many places, and it stirs a hard question too.
Who pays for the long way? Some governments allocate more money for families. But workers say that money is small. "We need a safe ship and fair pay," one worker says. People there say these workers deserve better pay.
The specialist says the long way will stay for now. Both sea roads must open again, and then the long way can end. Hormuz stays shut, and the stormy road around Africa carries more of the world's oil. One ship captain calls this the end of an era for cheap and quick fuel.