The first granular sulphur vessel has moved through the strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.
The MV Valsamitis transported 34,000t of granular sulphur, which is understood to have been loaded at the UAE's Ruwais port. The vessel appeared on Wednesday in the Fujairah area, and is currently bunkering there.
Market sources indicate Dar es Salaam as the intended destination, with the port typically receiving volumes for copper producers in central Africa.
This is the first sulphur vessel to take this route for several weeks, with two earlier vessels moving through the strait in the first week of the closure for Indonesia and Morocco, but no further movements attempted since.
There are now approximately 14 vessels in the Mideast Gulf loaded with about 600,000t of sulphur visible on AIS and awaiting safe transit. The real number could be higher, with some in the market placing it at 25, with some vessels opting to switch off AIS tracking for safety reasons while in anchorage.
Iranian vessels are often not easy to track, and there are reports of one Iranian 20,000-25,000t crushed lump shipment moving through and being delivered to east Africa, and a further 50,000t shipment from Assaluyeh being on the water and en route towards China. These reports could not be verified.
