Three supertankers passed through the Hormuz Strait on Saturday (April 11th), according to shipping data. This marks the first batch of ships to depart from the Persian Gulf since the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran on Tuesday (7th) and the start of peace talks in Pakistan on Saturday.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February, Iran unilaterally blocked the Hormuz Strait as retaliation and leverage. The strait is a crucial chokepoint for around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas transportation, leading to disruptions in related energy supplies and a surge in global oil prices.
According to Reuters, data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) shows that the Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) “Serifos” flying the Liberian flag, and the VLCCs “Cospearl Lake” and “He Rong Hai” flying the Chinese flag, navigated around Iran’s Larak Island on Saturday and sailed out of the Hormuz Strait.
Each of the oil tankers has a cargo capacity of 2 million barrels.
Data from LSEG and analysis firm Kpler indicates that the “Serifos” loaded crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the beginning of March and is expected to arrive at the Port of Malacca in Malaysia on April 21st.
The “Cospearl Lake” is carrying Iraqi crude oil, while the “He Rong Hai” is loaded with Saudi Arabian crude oil. Both of these large oil tankers are leased by Unipec, a trading company under the Chinese energy giant Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation).
Sinopec did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comments outside of office hours.