(Bloomberg) — A supertanker hauling Iraqi crude may have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, automated tracking data suggest. Separately, a cargo of cooking fuel destined for India left the Persian Gulf.
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The very large crude carrier Kin A, also known as the Helga, appeared on tracking screens on Saturday off Duqm on the Omani coast, having previously been seen more than three days earlier heading toward the strait after loading at Iraq’s Basra terminal. It would likely have crossed the strait on Wednesday.
The voyage is feasible based on the distance covered and the time between signals, while satellite images analysed by Bloomberg show a VLCC at the same mooring at Basra as that indicated by the Kin A’s signals. It’s not possible to identify the ship from those images. If the voyage is genuine, it will be one of only a dozen VLCCs carrying non-Iranian cargoes to have made the crossing since the beginning of March.
The Kin A has previously been involved in hauling Venezuelan crude to Asia and in storage and transshipment of crude at the Riau archipelago east of Singapore, a well-known area for shadow fleet activity, raising questions about its current activity.
Separately, the very large gas carrier Sarv Shakti, carrying liquefied petroleum gas to India made an outbound transit of the strait on Saturday morning. Another similar sized gas tanker linked to India made the crossing in the opposite direction.
Beyond those three tankers, commercial traffic in Hormuz between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon was limited to the usual mix of small China-linked or Iran-affiliated ships, vessel-tracking data show.
The constrained movement highlights that access to the strait appears to be restricted to select vessels with regional alignment or approval.
Ship Movements
Outbound transits remained limited on Saturday morning. In addition to the Sarv Shakti, two China-linked ships, a bulk carrier and a small oil product tanker as well as an Iran-linked ashphalt/bitumen tanker were the only ships observed leaving the Persian Gulf.
Vessels transiting Hormuz with active Automatic Identification System signals during the past day were confined to the narrow northern lane approved by Tehran.
Recent Iran-linked departures have largely stalled in the Gulf of Oman, though it’s unclear whether the ships are following regional itineraries or are being trapped by the US Navy blockade stationed further east outside the gulf.
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