Two very large crude carriers loaded with Saudi crude are heading for the Strait of Hormuz in the latest sign of recovering traffic via the vital oil chokepoint. The tankers are owned by Japanese companies, Reuters said in a report citing data from Kpler and LSEG.
According to the Kpler data, the tankers, operated by Nippon Yusen KK and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, had loaded Saudi crude on March 1, after which they got stuck in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shut down traffic through the waterway. Both VLCCs are fully loaded, meaning 4 million barrels of crude will soon be heading to Japan.
The news follows a report that as many as 12 million barrels on six tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, along with two tankers carrying chemicals, a vehicle carrier, and a cargo ship, all bound for Japan, Reuters noted in its report.
Commercial traffic via the chokepoint remains at roughly one-third of its pre-war level of about 84 daily vessel transits, even as crude exports continue to recover. On July 4, only 25 vessels crossed the strait with active AIS transmissions, while Bloomberg reported that four outbound tankers reversed course after receiving radio warnings from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Saudi Arabia, however, has already managed to export 34 million barrels since the U.S. and Iran signed their preliminary ceasefire deal in mid-June. The UAE has also ramped up outflows via Hormuz, posting record oil exports for June.
The recovery remains uneven, with reports saying earlier this week that several tankers heading to the waterway had made U-turns. Per the reports, at least eight oil tankers and LNG carriers made mysterious and unexplained U-turns on Friday and Saturday while near the Omani coast, outbound from the Gulf.
Of these tankers that made U-turns, four moved north and exited the Strait of Hormuz close to Iran, in what’s likely an Iran-controlled lane. The others were sticking to the Oman coast.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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