Two tankers were transiting the strait of Hormuz eastbound on Saturday, according to data from trade analytics platform Vortexa, potentially marking the first crude shipments to exit the Mideast Gulf since Iran said on Friday that it was reopening the waterway to shipping.
The transits also come despite Iran's parliamentary speaker warning later on Friday that the strait would not remain open if the US continued with the naval blockade of Iranian ports which it began on 11 Apr.
A laden VLCC, the 301,861 dwt FPMC C Lord, which partially loaded on 23 February in Halul, Qatar, and partially on 28 February in Juaymah, Saudi Arabia, was passing Hormuz using the northern corridor close to the Iranian coast, according to Vortexa data.
Vortexa lists the vessel's destination as Fujairah, although the cargo may be bound for Taiwan, where a local company reportedly fixed the ship in early February for a voyage to Mailiao, according to Reshamwala shipbrokers.
In addition, the 114,790 dwt Aframax Desh Garima was also transiting Hormuz eastbound, carrying crude from Das Island, UAE, to India, Vortexa data show.
Meanwhile, some VLCCs previously bound for Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast may be redirecting back into the Mideast Gulf. The 299,472 dwt V. Advance, which had been ballasting westbound in the Arabian Sea, recently altered course and now appears to be heading towards the Mideast Gulf or Fujairah, according to Vortexa.
Several Suezmax tankers are also idling inside the Mideast Gulf near the entrance to the strait of Hormuz, Vortexa indicate, which may reflect ongoing uncertainty over the status of Iranian and US blockades.
Iran announced on Friday that it was reopening the strait of Hormuz until the end of its current ceasefire with the US next week, in response to the agreement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. But Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bhager Ghalibaf said later on Friday that the strait would not remain open while the US continued its blockade of Iranian ports.
