Shipping data shows that three fully loaded supertankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. This is the first time oil vessels have left the area since the US-Iran ceasefire.
The Strait handles about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Tehran blocked it when the Iran war started in late February, which pushed up energy prices and disrupted global supply chains.
The Liberia-flagged VLCC Serifos and the China-flagged Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai took a special route that avoids Iran’s Larak Island. Each ship can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil, showing how much shipping has started again.
There are early signs of recovery. On Sunday, three empty tankers, Mombasa B, Agios Fanourios I, and Shalamar, passed through the strait to enter the Gulf and load cargo. This points to a slow return of traffic through one of the world’s key shipping routes.
Though the U.S. and Iran have announced a ceasefire and an easing of navigation restrictions, Iran remains in de facto control of the strait.
Source: Reuters
