New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Daily charter hire rates for tankers to India have more than doubled to $250,000 in about two weeks, as escalating hostilities in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz push up the cost of shipping oil to the world's third-largest oil importer, according to three people familiar with the developments.

Rates have risen 150% from about $100,000 as Houthi forces seized control of Yemen's Mocha port near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the people said. Bunker fuel prices have also risen 50% to $900 a tonne, while insurance costs have increased 20%, adding to the cost of imports, including energy.

Iran-backed Houthi forces seized Yemen's Red Sea port city of Mocha last week and have since advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, ...