Pakistan Oil Tanker Transits Hormuz After Hugging Iran’s Coast
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been all but halted since the war in the Middle East began last month
A tanker laden with crude oil appears to have cleared the Strait of Hormuz and is now sailing to Pakistan, according to ship-tracking data, making it the latest in just a trickle of vessels that have left the Persian Gulf since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began.
The Karachi, controlled by Pakistan’s National Shipping Corp., made the perilous journey over the course of Sunday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. By Monday morning, the Pakistan-flagged Aframax was seen in the waters off Oman’s Sohar.
National Shipping Corp. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pakistan’s oil ministry also did not respond to Bloomberg queries.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been all but halted since the war in the Middle East began last month. Traders have been closely watching vessels that make their way through the waterway as they try to gauge how many barrels can still make their way through the chokepoint, which typically handles about a fifth of the world’s oil.
The 2022-built Karachi made its way across Hormuz and around Iran’s Larak Island, the vessel-tracking data show. It then proceeded eastbound close to Iran’s coastline, before leaving the strait Sunday evening. Other ships leaving the strait also appear to have taken a route on the Iranian side of Hormuz.
The Karachi most recently loaded crude in the United Arab Emirates, according to ship-tracking data. Draft readings indicate that the ship isn’t fully laden.