Three clean oil product tankers sailed out of the Mideast Gulf through the strait of Hormuz earlier on Saturday despite a rapid reversal in Iran's stance on shipping access, while two other vessels approached the strait but appeared to turn back.
The movements highlight the lack of clarity facing shipowners and traders. Iran's foreign minister Seyed Araghchi said on Friday that the strait would be open during the current US-Iran ceasefire. US president Donald Trump said shortly afterwards that the waterway was completely open.
But Iran's position has since shifted. Parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said the strait would not remain open while the US naval blockade on Iranian ports stayed in place. And later, Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari said that while Iran had initially agreed to the managed passage of a limited number of vessels, it has now returned the strait to strict military control.
All three product tankers that exited the strait on 18 April are rated high sanctions-risk by marine consultancy Windward, though none appeared to be carrying Iranian products. It is not clear if they transited before or after the Iranian change of stance.
Tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler show the largest vessel, the LR1 Navig8 Macallister, loaded 60,000t of naphtha at the UAE port of Ruwais in the first week of the war and remained in the Gulf for six weeks. The vessel is now signalling a voyage to east Asia.
The MR tanker AktiA loaded 30,000t of gasoil from Bahrain's Sitra in the final week before the war began and waited in the Gulf for seven weeks. It is now signalling a voyage to east Africa. The MR Torin loaded 30,000t of naphtha from an unidentified Gulf port in the second week of April and waited for one week. The vessel transited Hormuz after receiving "special permission in co-ordination with Iranian authorities", a shipping broker said.
Two other product tankers headed towards the strait on Saturday but did not complete a transit. The LR1 Khairpur appeared to turn back, according to Vortexa data. The firm estimates it is carrying 70,000t of gasoline from an unidentified Gulf port. The vessel had entered the Gulf empty a week ago, becoming the first low-sanctions-risk clean product tanker to do so since early March.
The LR2 Sea Condor made a similar approach, carrying 90,000t of Kuwaiti naphtha loaded in the same week the war began, before also turning back.
A further 18 clean products tankers have remained in the Gulf since before the war started, around seven weeks, with no sign of attempting an exit yet.
Severely restricted traffic through the strait since the US-Iran conflict started at the end of February has tightened oil product supply. Only around 25,000 t/d of clean oil products have exited Hormuz so far in April, according to Vortexa data, compared with about 300,000 t/d across the full month last April.
Clean product outright prices and premiums against crude have surged in Europe and Asia, setting multi-decade highs and delaying demand as buyers wait for firmer clarity on shipping access.
By Rithika Krishna and Benedict George
