A Vietnam-bound supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude, which was halted by US forces days ago after crossing the Strait of Hormuz, has resumed its journey.
The Agios Fanourios I got clearance from US authorities to continue, according to its Athens-based manager Eastern Mediterranean Maritime. By early Sunday, the fully laden very large crude carrier had sailed past the boundary line where the US is enforcing its blockade of Iranian shipping.
US Central command in Florida didn’t answer a phone call or immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The VLCC sailed out from the Arabian Gulf a week ago, moving past the Strait of Hormuz that’s blockaded by Iran, and attempted to move into the Arabian Sea. As it approached the US naval blockade line, the tanker turned back into the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data show. US Central Command said at the time the vessel was turned away to enforce the blockade.
The cargo’s buyer, PetroVietnam Oil Corp., which is the trading arm of the Southeast Asian country’s national energy company, last week sent a letter of appeal to the US for the tanker’s release.
“This cargo is of extreme importance to Nghi Son Refinery, to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and to the Vietnamese people,” according to the letter seen by Bloomberg News. “Any further delay risks halting refinery throughput, with cascading consequences for millions of Vietnamese consumers, businesses, public services and industries.”
The vessel’s transit comes after a two-day summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, where both agreed the strait should be open but made no apparent progress toward the goal. Traffic through the waterway remains far below pre-war levels despite a slight uptick in recent days, as several crude tankers exit the Arabian Gulf.
Source: Bloomberg
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