Dozens of Indian and South Korean oil tankers and more than 1,100 crew are currently stranded in and around the Persian Gulf as the critical chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz remains de facto closed to tanker traffic.
As many as seven crude oil tankers from South Korean refiners are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, Businesskorea reported on Thursday.
The delay in crude shipments to Korea, which imports all of its crude and gas supply, could have major repercussions on energy security and the refining and petrochemicals sectors in the country, executives say.
“If the Iran situation is prolonged, it could pose a significant burden across the board, from energy and shipping industries to Middle East export projects,” Kim Chang-beom, standing vice chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation, said at a meeting in South Korea’s Parliament on Thursday.
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South Korean refinery officials noted that one of the stranded tankers has already loaded 2 million barrels of crude from the Middle East—a volume that’s equivalent to one day of oil consumption in the country. The executives called for talks with the South Korean government about the potential to release crude from reserves.
At the same time, as many as 37 India-flagged ships with more than 1,100 crew in total are also stranded around the Strait of Hormuz.
“A total of 37 Indian-flagged ships with 1,109 sailors are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the adjoining sea areas due to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz,” an Indian official with knowledge of the matter told local news outlet PTI earlier this week.
Tanker traffic activity through the Strait of Hormuz has crashed from 40 vessels per day transiting in January the narrow but vital shipping lane, to a single tanker making the trip on March 3, according to data from energy flows analytics firm Vortexa.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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