Drastic action to avoid a diesel crisis after the price spiked to a record high and America threatened to ban exports to Europe should remind investors how important it is to get this fuel from one continent to another. All the moreso with winter coming and military action threatening crucial choke-points in the Middle East. But wars produce winners, as well as losers, and one transport business in which I am a long-term shareholder has just reported an 81% increase in the return achieved on a fixed long-term deal.

For the first time, record freight rates and a massive scramble for shipping capacity are causing second-hand product tankers to achieve higher prices than new ones, because the latter cannot be delivered for years and the fuel shortage is immediate. But an ill wind for the global economy is generating healthy returns for  specific businesses.