Saudi supertankers cross Strait of Hormuz after Iran deal
According to data from global trade intelligence firm Kpler, three super tankers loaded with 6 million barrels of oil coming from Saudi Arabia passed the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi tankers changed their transponders in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday after hiding their location for more than two months. The transits come after President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an agreement Wednesday that is expected to reopen Hormuz.
However, there has been no significant increase in ship traffic in Hormuz in the hours since the agreement was signed. Before the Iran war, more than 100 ships, including dozens of tankers, passed through the strait every day.
“The floodgates haven’t opened, there’s no mass exodus yet,” said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler. Shippers still seem hesitant to cross Hormuz, Smith said.
Saudi tankers are very large crude oil carriers, or VLCCs, that can carry up to about 2 million barrels of oil each. According to Kpler, Shaden is heading to Kiire, Japan, and Awtad is heading to Ulsan, South Korea. Jaham’s destination is not yet clear.
At least five Iranian ships have crossed the US blockade line since June 16, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Three of these ships were state-owned oil tankers originating from the Gulf of Oman.
Kpler estimates that 118 tankers stranded in the Persian Gulf could leave Hormuz within 15 days if the shipping industry is confident about the Iran deal. Kpler estimates that within 30 days of the deal, a dozen tankers could enter the Gulf each day to pick up oil; this is still well below pre-war levels.
The Joint Maritime Information Center this week downgraded its threat assessment to Hormuz from “serious” to “substantial.” The Center is a U.S.-led maritime security organization headquartered in Bahrain that coordinates between allied navies and merchant ships in the Middle East.
JMIC warned shippers that attacks on Hormuz were still a “strong possibility” and that mines along the sea lane continued to pose a threat. But the report noted that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s behavior “has become less unstable” since Washington and Tehran announced the deal.
