Two Supertankers Exit Hormuz With Crude Bound for China

Two supertankers loaded with crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz today and are heading to China, Reuters reported, citing data from LSEG and Kpler.

The vessels are carrying Iraqi and some Qatari crude, loaded in late February and early March. The cargoes were ordered by Chinese energy majors Unipec and Sinochem.

Last week, Iran said it had allowed as many as 30 vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, after indicating it would operate on a per-government basis, agreeing deals with individual countries that rely on the energy flows out of the Persian Gulf.

Some vessels have been passing through the chokepoint in so-called dark mode, switching off their geolocation devices to avoid detection from the Iranian military. Since early March, hundreds of vessels, including tankers carrying energy commodities, have been stranded in the Persian Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz amid the de facto closure of the chokepoint, but the past couple of weeks have seen some moving out.

Two liquefied petroleum gas carriers heading for India made it through the Strait of Hormuz last week, along with a tanker carrying crude for Vietnam, and a handful of others. Still, tanker traffic remains a fraction of pre-war levels, with Israel-based Windward reporting last week that “Large portions of northern Hormuz remained dominated by stationary dark vessels rather than active commercial flow.” The company said there were as many as 47 vessels in dark mode in the Strait, but they were not attempting to move, as well as ship-to-ship transfer activity.

According to data from Bloomberg cited by Zerohedge, at least 19 tankers carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas from Gulf states other than Iran had traversed the Strait of Hormuz since March 1. Another 100 tankers, however, remain paralyzed in the strait, the data also showed.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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