Crude Oil Shipments Resume Through Strait of Hormuz

Tehran. Signs of resumption of crude oil transportation activities from West Asia to the Asian market through the Strait of Hormuz have been seen. Three giant supertankers, which were stopped in the Gulf region for more than two months, exited through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

International shipping data shows that these ships carry approximately 6 million barrels of crude oil. Meanwhile, another supertanker is said to be entering the Gulf region. These ships are among the limited number of ships using a special transit route directed by Iran to cross the Strait.

Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been extremely affected since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. As about one-fifth of the world's oil and energy supply passes through this route, this region is considered extremely sensitive for the world economy.

According to data, a giant oil tanker named 'Universal Winner', flying the South Korean flag, loaded 2 million barrels of crude oil from Kuwait on March 4. After a long time, the ship exited through the strait on Wednesday.

According to ship tracking company Kepler, this ship is heading towards Ulsan, South Korea. South Korea's largest refinery company, E1 Energy, is located here. The ship is expected to unload oil on June 9. Earlier, two Chinese oil tankers also exited through the same route.

Before the war started, 125 to 140 ships used to travel daily through the Strait of Hormuz. But now this number has become extremely low. According to reports, only an average of 10 ships are crossing the Strait daily.

Most of these are small cargo ships, chemical tankers, and liquefied petroleum gas tankers. The number of ships carrying crude oil is still very low.