According to shipping data, three fully laden supertankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz during a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Iran’s closure of the strait, a critical passage for roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas(LNG) shipments, has disrupted world energy markets and driven up oil prices.
The Liberia-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Serifos, along with the China-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai, left the “Hormuz Passage trial anchorage”, a route bypassing Iran’s Larak Island, on Saturday, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), reports Al Jazeera.
Each of these vessels can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.
Two sources familiar with the matter said that the Serifos, chartered by Thailand’s state-owned energy company PTT, is among seven vessels for which Malaysia sought Iranian clearance to transit the strait. LSEG and analytics firm Kpler data show the tanker, loaded with crude from Saudi Arabia and the UAE in early March, is scheduled to reach Malaysia’s Malacca Port on April 21.
Requests for comment sent to Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PTT, and Malaysian state energy firm Petronas outside office hours on Sunday went unanswered.
Another tanker, Ocean Thunder, carrying Iraqi crude and chartered by a Petronas unit, passed through the waterway last week. LSEG data indicates that Cospearl Lake, also loaded with Iraqi oil, is expected to arrive at Zhoushan port in eastern China on May 1.
It remains unclear where He Rong Hai will offload its Saudi crude cargo.
Both VLCCs are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese energy giant Sinopec, according to the data. Sinopec did not respond to a request for comment outside office hours.
Hundreds of tankers remain stranded in the Gulf, awaiting an opportunity to exit during the two-week ceasefire period.
On Sunday, three empty tankers—Mombasa B, Agios Fanourios I, and Shalamar, were sailing through the strait to enter the Gulf and load oil, LSEG data showed. The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I signaled its destination as Iraq to load Basrah crude for Vietnam.
