A Swiss startup trading company that pushed through perilous crude shipments in the Strait of Hormuz—where military tensions between Iran and the United States have peaked—to reap about 90 billion won in arbitrage profits has become the talk of the international commodities market. While global major corporations held back over war risks, a small trader is being credited with making a bold move to capture the war premium.
Bloomberg reported on the 25th, citing multiple sources, that Geneva-based crude trader Lytton SA recently moved about 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude through the Strait of Hormuz and is estimated to have earned a gross profit of about $60 million (about 90 billion won).
At the center of the transaction was the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Agios Fanourios 1. The ship loaded crude at Iraq's Basra port and headed for Vietnam, but it was stopped by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz. After exiting the strait, the U.S. Navy demanded the vessel stop for inspection, halting the voyage for several days.
The market initially believed that Vietnam's state-run oil company PetroVietnam led the transaction, but Bloomberg said Lytton actually directed it from start to finish. As the world's largest commodity corporations pulled back over war risks, a startup carried out a high-risk transaction.
Lytton is estimated to have booked a massive arbitrage profit on the transaction. The company reportedly bought Iraqi crude at about $18 per barrel below benchmark prices. Given the recent surge in crude prices outside the Strait of Hormuz, the math suggests tens of millions of dollars in profit from a single voyage.
Not all of the revenue translates into net profit, however. According to Bloomberg, shipping rates soared after the trade clash with Iran, pushing transportation expense for this voyage alone to $35 million–$40 million. On top of that came berthing charges from the vessel's detention.
Lytton was founded in 2024 by oil trader Hakim Dardbouche, formerly of Trafigura, and former Onex DMCC executive Alain Cognard. The industry says the transaction instantly raised Lytton's profile in the international crude market.
As tensions around the Strait of Hormuz escalated after the Iran war, Iraq's state-run oil company reportedly turned to steep discount sales to offload crude trapped inside the Gulf. Bloomberg said some transactions carried discounts of up to $33.4 per barrel. With crude trading margins—normally just a few cents per barrel—soaring to $20–$30 after the war, analysts say a so-called "war margin" market has emerged.
Recently, global major firms have also begun to move, according to reports. An industry source said, "Large commodity corporations such as Vitol are recently expanding Iraqi crude transactions outside the Strait of Hormuz via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers." Some expect risky trades aimed at cashing in on high oil prices and war premiums to continue for the time being.
U.S. financial sanctions on Iran are seen as a variable. Iran is reportedly demanding tolls from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Treasury recently warned, "Any foreign corporations that pay such expense could be subject to sanctions." Lytton and the vessel's management company denied this, saying they "did not pay any tolls to Iran."