refuel

Gasoline has risen so much that even Mark Zuckerberg has looked for a low-cost gas station to refuel his yacht: Gibraltar

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From the start of the war of Iran, filling the car tank has become one of those little dramas everyday things that we all know well. A few euros more, a sigh of resignation, and continue. But there is another refueling scale that makes your complaints at the gas station For those 10 extra euros that it cost you to fill the tank, it almost sounds like a joke. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and fifth greatest fortune of the world, owns the launchpada 118 meter superyacht valued at about 300 million dollars. Since the US and Israeli bombs began to fall on Iranian soilfilling your fuel tanks involves an extra cost of $278,880 with each refueling. The most curious thing is that the solution that the tycoon has found is very similar to the one that any citizen with a foot in this price escalation has probably adopted: look for a low-cost gas station. The painful tank to fill Maintaining a luxury superyacht is not cheap, which is why only millionaires can afford it. He launchpad by Mark Zuckerberg has a fuel tank of approximately 420,000 liters. To put it in context, it is the equivalent of the capacity of about 7,000 medium-sized cars at one time. The yacht is equipped with four MTU 20V 4000 M93L engines which, sailing at a cruising speed of 16 knots, consume about 982 liters per hour each. That leaves us with approximate consumption of 4,000 liters of fuel per hour. That is to say, an equivalent consumption 560 cars traveling at 120 km/h or 73 buses. To this we must add that the launchpad He does not travel alone, he does so accompanied by his support yacht, the wingman. Expenses double. The Launchpad has four motors like this According to price data monitored by the specialized portal Ship&Bunker in January 2026, the average price per ton of fuel for yachts (MGO) was $715. Data from March 2026 on this same portal suggest that its price has skyrocketed to $1,379 per ton. This means that filling the fuel tank launchpad In January, Mark Zuckerberg had to pay a bill of just over 300,300 euros, while doing so today It would cost you about 579,180 euros. An extra cost of $278,880 with each refueling in just three months. Gibraltar: low cost gasoline for yachts Faced with such an increase, Mark Zuckerberg and many other wealthy yacht-owning tycoons have done what any neighbor’s son would do in this case: look for low-cost gasoline. In this case, the closest and best located is Gibraltar. As and how they stood out in The CountryGibraltar is not only a strategic rock between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean that Philip V delivered generously to the British. For superyacht owners who frequently cross the ocean, it is the equivalent of a motorway gas station as it is located on the most optimal shipping route to cross the world by sea. For superyachts that, like the launchpad, they just made Its periodic maintenance in the exclusive shipyards of La Ciotat (France), the Strait route is the shortest to go down to the Canary Islands and, from there, head to the warm waters of the Caribbean to meet its owner in Miami. The same thing happens with the reverse route, allowing ships to refuel without deviating from the most optimal route between both continents. He launchpadwhich is more similar to a small cruise ship than a pleasure boat, stops in Gibraltar regularly on its routes between Europe and America. It is not because of the pleasure of its views, but because of the price and the refueling infrastructure for superyachts, cruise ships and large freighters that has created Gibraltar. Its special tax status allows boats over 18 meters to refuel with duty free fuel, making it a mandatory stop for these giants of the sea. It is no coincidence that he is one of the bunkering points busiest in the world, with prices that, even after the escalation following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, remain lower than in many ports in northern Europe or the eastern Mediterranean. In Xataka | The difficult part has not been building an 80-meter, $200 million yacht. It has been taken to the sea without destroying it Image | Feadship, Meta

Tension in Iran is so high that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. And that will have consequences when you go to refuel.

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The world woke up today with a dangerous contradiction: while in the aseptic halls of Geneva the diplomats of the United States and Iran they shake hands cautiouslyin the waters of the Persian Gulf, the speedboats of the Revolutionary Guard block the passage of oil tankers. It doesn’t take a missile to fall for the global economy to feel the impact; Fear is trading higher and traveling faster than any ship. The Strait of Hormuz, the planet’s energy jugular, has undergone closure “partial and temporary” for the first time since tensions escalated in January. For the consumer, this is not a distant headline: the price of Brent oil has already increased by 13% so far this year. An increase in prices that does not respond to a real lack of supply, but rather to the geopolitical risk premium. We are paying for what could happen, not for what has happened. As confirmed by Iranian state media cited by EuronewsTehran ordered the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz under the justification of “security precautions.” The Iranian Fars news agency, referenced by Deutsche Welleexplained that this maneuver responds to the military exercises called “Intelligent Control of the Strait of Hormuz.” It is an unprecedented move in this crisis: it is the first time that Iran has physically closed sectors of the waterway since the US administration threatened military action last January. However, it is important to clarify the operational scope so as not to fall into unjustified alarmism. Jakob Larsen, safety director at Bimco (the association representing global shipowners), explained to the CNBC that it is not an indefinite total block. The closure affects the incoming “traffic separation scheme” area and lasts “several hours.” Iranian authorities have asked commercial ships to stay away from the exercise zone, which is causing delays and “minor inconveniences,” but the flow has not stopped completely. A 33 kilometer funnel for 20% of the world’s oil To understand why the market is holding its breath, you have to look at the map. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) rate this step as the “choke point” (chokepoint) most important in the world for oil transit. The figures are overwhelming: Volume: About 20 million barrels of crude oil, condensates and refined products flow through this artery daily. Global Impact: According to data from consulting firms Vortexa and Kplerthis represents approximately 20% of global consumption of petroleum liquids and nearly 30% of maritime crude oil trade. The problem is geographical. As explained D.W.At its narrowest point, the road is just 33 kilometers wide. But crucially, the safe navigable route for large supertankers is only two miles wide in each direction. It’s a perfect funnel where any interruption, no matter how small, creates an immediate domino effect. He timing of this military operation is not a coincidence; It’s a message. As analyzed Euronewsthe partial closure occurred exactly while the second round of nuclear talks between Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy, was being held in Geneva. For this reason, Tehran is using the strait as a negotiating lever. The United States has increased its military pressure with the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the region, in response to both Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the bloody repression of internal protests shaking the Persian country. Paradoxically, diplomacy seems to advance while the guns are aimed. According to ReutersAraghchi confirmed after the meeting that a “principle of agreement” has been reached on the bases of a future relationship, although he warned that closing the final pact will be a slow process. Iran shows its fist in the sea while offering its hand in Switzerland. The price mirage: why do we pay the “fear premium”? The market reaction has been an emotional rollercoaster in the last 24 hours: Tuesday’s mirage: Initially, when the progress in Geneva became known, the price of oil fell. The barrel of Brent fell 1.8% (to $67.36) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 1%. The markets “bought” the hope of peace. Today’s reality, Wednesday: The trend has reversed. Prices are recovering and rising again. As explained in OilPricethe traders have reevaluated the situation: the final agreement seems distant and the physical closure of the strait, although partial, is a tangible reality today. As Sugandha Sachdeva points out, analyst cited by Reutersthe market is experiencing a “technical rally” because doubt dominates the scene. Although 82% of the crude oil that passes through Hormuz goes to Asia (China, India, Japan), oil is a global market. If there is a lack of supply in Asia, those countries will bid for the crude oil available in other regions, making the barrel more expensive for everyone. This has an immediate effect on Europe due to the “financialization” of energy. Gas and oil they have stopped being simple commodities to become financial assets that operate with high-speed algorithms. The volatility is such that “an early morning headline about Iran can alter the price of heating in Berlin before dawn.” The European Achilles heel The situation is especially delicate for the Old Continent. Europe is experiencing a “painful déjà vu“: fleeing from Russian dependence, has fallen into dependence on gas that arrives by ship (LNG). European gas reserves are at worrying lows (44% at the end of January) and vulnerability is maximum. This is where Hormuz plays a critical role beyond oil. As we have detailed in Xatakathe European Union looks to Qatar as a vital alternative for its gas supply, but “military tensions between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz put that route at risk.” If the strait is closed, not only oil to Asia is blocked, but also the Qatari liquefied natural gas that Europe desperately needs to refill its warehouses for next winter. The short-term horizon is bleak. According to an estimate by Eurasia Group collected by OilPricethere is a 65% chance that the United States will launch a military strike against Iran in April if the current talks … Read more

The island has so little oil that foreign airlines will not be able to refuel

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There is no fuel. A message as simple as it is terrible. It is the one that the Government of Cuba has sent to foreign airlines. This is what the news agency claims EFEfrom where they point out that none of the island’s airports will be able to refuel planes arriving from abroad. JET A1 FUEL NOT AVBL. That is the message that appeared yesterday in the database of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. “A1 jet fuel not available” is what that message means. It arrived, they assure EFEin a Notam message, one designed to alert pilots and air traffic controllers of a dangerous and unexpected situation. The fuel deficit is confirmation of the problems that the island is having in supplying itself. Without Venezuela supporting and Mexico in clear retreat, the Cuban Government has an almost impossible mission to replenish the 70,000 barrels of oil per day who have stopped coming to the island. And now? The big question is how airlines are going to operate in order to maintain their operations, as far as possible, within normality. The simplest thing, obviously, is to refuel with enough fuel near the island to be able to leave it without impediments. The situation It is not new for airlines who have had to play with restrictions of this type before. The biggest problem is with long-haul direct flights to the island (those in which you have to cross the ocean) because they would have no choice but to stop in countries in the area such as the United States, Mexico or the Dominican Republic, among others. In Xataka We have contacted Iberia. When we write these lines we have not received an answer as to whether they already have an alternative plan on the table. More pressure. The lack of fuel is, as we said, a direct consequence of the strangulation that the United States is carrying out on the country through pressure on countries that until now supplied crude oil to Cuba. Since US special forces will take away by force To Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela is not supplying barrels to a country that, until now, had an oxygen cylinder in its ally. days later, Donald Trump already announced in their own social network that no more oil or money would reach Cuba, in a clear movement to continue suffocating the Cuban regime. These statements referred to oil that arrived from Venezuela But over time we have learned that Mexican oil has not been reaching the Cuban coasts either. In total, it is estimated that it has represented a deficit of 70,000 barrels per day of the 110,000 barrels that Cuba needs to function with a certain normality. Now, this shortage is being felt in air traffic but for a long time people have been living on the streets with Regular power outages that can last more than a day. Humanitarian aid? In its pressure to prevent more oil from reaching Cuba, the United States focused on Mexico. As confirmed France 24a few days after the overthrow of Nicolás Maduro the last successful shipment from Mexico to Cuba occurred. The freighter that was to take over in mid-January never left the port. Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, has defended her ability to decide whether to “sell or give” crude oil to Cuba. That “da” makes all the sense in the world because, supposedly, since 2024, Mexicans have been delivering oil to Cuba as “humanitarian aid” but according to Pemex accounts Oil worth almost 500 million dollars was sold to Cuba in 2025 and the figure rises to over 1.4 billion euros if the accounts are backdated to 2023. And the company’s own directors have confirmed that they are being paid daily. The question is whether or not Mexico has actually been sending barrels to Cuba as “humanitarian aid.” And it is that chow we count on XatakaWhile the oil business has very tight accounts, the supposed humanitarian shipments are very opaque. Shipments that the United States threatens to collect for itself with more tariffs on countries that help Cuba in managing this crisis. We have already seen this. With Venezuela out of the game, Mexico was supposed to be Cuba’s energy lifeline. Without the entry of oil from abroad, the Cuban Government faces suffocation. The current situation forces the same rationing that was already experienced in the so-called Special Periodwhen the island faced the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was then its safeguard against the American blockade. “How do we farm our land? How do we get around? How do we keep our children in class without fuel? We are going to take measures that, while not permanent, will require effort. What else can we do? Are we going to give up? There is so much to defend,” Miguel Díaz-Canel, president of Cuba, stated just a few days ago. In his speech, Díaz-Canel also sent the message to the United States that they were willing to negotiate: “Cuba is willing to have a dialogue with the United States on any of the issues that we want to debate or discuss.” Less than a week later, the island is experiencing one of the most complicated energy situations in decades. Photo | Tacorontey and Edward Galitsky In Xataka | For the first time, electrified cars are outselling gasoline cars. It is the beginning of the inevitable

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