Two tankers carrying oil products exited the Strait of Hormuz over the past week, while a liquefied natural gas carrier loaded cargo in the United Arab Emirates, shipping data showed - rare movements as traffic through the chokepoint remains limited.
Several tankers have managed to leave the Gulf in the past month, but oil and LNG flows are still severely constrained by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28. About a fifth of global oil and LNG supply normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz.Aframax tanker Cy Victorious, carrying at least 80,000 metric tons (over 508,000 barrels) of high-sulphur straight-run fuel oil, exited the strait on May 30, ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG showed.
The vessel last loaded at Iraq's Khor al Zubair port in early April and is expected to reach Malaysia in the second half of June.
Another Long-Range 2 tanker Sti Elysees, loaded with clean products from Kuwait in late February, exited the strait on May 29, according to Kpler data. Its destination is unclear.
FLUCTUATING HOPES
Meanwhile, the Marigold LNG tanker, managed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), loaded a cargo at UAE's Das Island on May 24-25, analytics firm Vortexa said."The vessel halted AIS transmissions on 3 May before a 'dark' inbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz," Vortexa said in a report on Monday. AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is used to track ships' locations, and some vessels turn it off when trying to cross the strait.
"It is the last of a group of four ADNOC-controlled steam carriers, which all turned AIS off, to cross Hormuz westwards to reload. The other three – Mraweh, Al Hamra and Umm Al Ashtan – have already made their subsequent 'dark' outbound transits of the chokepoint," Vortexa said.
Kpler data showed the Marigold was last seen east of the strait on May 1, but had loaded at Das Island on May 25.
ADNOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, four ballast LNG tankers have recently moved towards the eastern entrance of the strait and are holding positions there, according to Vortexa, Kpler and LSEG data.The vessels arrived near their current positions on May 30-31, said Ashley Sherman, senior LNG analyst at Vortexa.
While such movements are not unprecedented, they reflect fluctuating hopes for a reopening of the strait and a broader peace deal, he added.
The Al Hamra returned towards the strait after delivering a cargo from Das Island to India last week.
Al Areesh, Al Khuwair and Al Marrouna - all controlled by QatarEnergy - began moving from waters off India and Sri Lanka towards the strait around May 25-27.
QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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