LNG Tankers Resume Shipping Through Strait of Hormuz Amid Ongoing Conflict
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowly resumed after the US-Israeli war on Iran severely curtailed it. Reuters reports that a handful of tankers have left the Gulf this month, including three liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and a supertanker with Iraqi crude for China.
The LNG tankers Fuwairit, Al Rayyan, and Al Hamra crossed the strait to deliver their cargo to Pakistan and China. The Fuwairit was loaded with LNG at Qatar's Ras Laffan port on March 28 and is expected to discharge its cargo in Pakistan on Tuesday.
The VLCC Eagle Verona, chartered by Unipec, also exited the strait with nearly 2 million barrels of Basrah crude. It is expected to reach Ningbo port in eastern China on June 12 to discharge its cargo. Before the war began, shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 125-140 daily passages.
About 20,000 seafarers remain stranded on hundreds of ships in the Gulf due to the conflict.