Vessels carrying Middle East oil and LNG exit Hormuz, head for Pakistan and China: report

Two liquefied natural gas tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, heading to Pakistan and China, while a crude oil supertanker stranded for nearly three months also departed the Gulf, Reuters reported citing shipping data.

The movements come as maritime traffic through the strategic waterway remains severely disrupted by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which began on 28 February. The strait typically handles around one-fifth of global oil and LNG flows.

Which vessels are exiting the Strait of Hormuz and where are they headed?

The LNG tanker Fuwairit is crossing the Strait of Hormuz and is expected to discharge its cargo in Pakistan on Tuesday, having loaded at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal around 28 March.

A second LNG carrier, Al Rayyan, has also exited the strait after loading at Ras Laffan, with delivery to China expected on 27 June. In a separate movement, the crude supertanker Eagle Verona departed the Gulf on Saturday, bound for Ningbo port in eastern China on 12 June.

How disrupted is shipping through the Strait of Hormuz?

Before the conflict began, between 125 and 140 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily. Traffic has since fallen sharply, with shipping averaging around 10 vessels going into and out of the strait in recent days.

The disruptions have left an estimated 20,000 seafarers stranded aboard hundreds of ships inside the Gulf, according to industry data.

The vessels currently exiting are among a small number of large tankers using a transit route Iran has instructed ships to follow.

Last week, three Very Large Crude Carriers also sailed to China and South Korea, carrying an estimated 6 million barrels of crude oil. Iranian state television reported that more than 30 ships had recently passed through the waterway under new management protocols.

What crude oil cargo is the Eagle Verona carrying?

The Eagle Verona, a Singapore-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier, loaded nearly 2 million barrels of Basrah crude around 26 February. The vessel is chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of China’s state refiner Sinopec, and is owned by Malaysian state shipping company MISC. Sinopec and MISC could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Eagle Verona was among seven ships for which Malaysia had sought permission from Iran to pass through the strait, according to two sources previously cited by Reuters. Five of those seven vessels have since exited the Gulf. Two remain inside the waterway.

Who owns the LNG tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz?

Al Rayyan is owned by QatarEnergy, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Both Al Rayyan and Fuwairit loaded their cargoes at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal before the vessels were tracked exiting the strait. Data from LSEG and Kpler confirmed the movements and projected delivery dates for both carriers.

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