Data shows that a Chinese oil tanker leaves the Strait of Hormuz and stops in the Gulf of Oman
Data from LSEG and Kpler showed that a Chinese supertanker with two million barrels of Iraqi oil sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after having been stranded in the Gulf for over two months because of the U.S./Iran conflict.
LSEG data shows that the Very Large Crude Carrier Yuan Hua Hu has now anchored near the Gulf of Oman where the U.S. Navy is blocking Iranian vessels.
The crossing?comes at a time when U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping will be meeting in the 'next two days and after Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi recently visited Beijing.
According to ship tracking data, this is the third?passage? of a Chinese oil-tanker through the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S./Israeli war against Iran began on 28 February.
Sources with knowledge on the subject say that Iran appears to have tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil, liquefied gas, and natural gas liquefied from the area.
Sources said that other countries are looking at similar deals. This could be a way to consolidate Tehran's control over the waterway.
The Chinese VLCC was chartered by Unipec (the trading arm of Sinopec), and owned by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Hainan.
COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (COSCO) and Sinopec have not responded to comments immediately.
According to tracking data, the Yuan Hua Hu has been stranded in the Gulf since early March after loading nearly?2 millions barrels of Basrah medium crude at Iraq's Basrah Terminal. It's bound for Asia.
On April 11, the Chinese-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake, He?Rong Hai and Cospearl Lake left the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a satellite analysis by data analytics specialists 'SynMax' and data from the MarineTraffic platform, a vehicle carrier named?Xiang jiang kou also sailed the strait within the last 12 hours. It broadcast a message saying "Chinese vessel with crew" on its AIS transponder. The vessel was owned by Singapore-registered group Xin Yin Chuang Yuan 6.
(source: Reuters)
