Tankers Transit Strait of Hormuz
Over the weekend, three tankers transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) made their way through the Strait of Hormuz, headed for Pakistan, China, and India, according to a ship tracking service reported on Monday.
Interestingly, a fourth tanker, carrying Iraqi crude oil and bound for China, also managed to pass through the strait after being stuck in the Persian Gulf for roughly three months.
The tracking information provided by services like LSEG and Kpler indicates that one LNG tanker, Fuyrit, safely navigated through the Strait on Monday and is set to arrive in Pakistan the following day. This tanker left Ras Laffan port in Qatar at the end of March, and it’s owned by Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines. They chose not to share any details about its journey or how it assured safe passage amid serious threats from Iranian attacks.
Another LNG tanker, al rayan, also loaded gasoline at Ras Laffan. After being tracked in the Persian Gulf on May 22, it went off the radar for three days before reemerging on the other side of the strait on Monday. This vessel is en route to China and is expected to reach there by June 27. Questions directed at the ship’s owners or the operating energy company, Qatar Energy, about their navigation through the strait went unanswered.
The third LNG tanker, Al Hamra, was missing from tracking displays since April 19 but suddenly reappeared heading to India on Saturday. This marked the first shipment to India through the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian attacks began. Normally, India receives nearly half of its LNG from Qatar and the UAE, but the ongoing blockade has halted supplies entirely. According to Kpler, Al Hamra was able to load LNG from the Das Island facility run by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) after its disappearance.
This vessel represents the third ship owned by ADNOC Logistics and Services to travel through the Strait since the onset of the Iranian crisis, joining two others headed to Japan and China, while Al Hamra was destined for West India.
ADNOC has also not provided any comment on how the ship was able to transit the strait without issues.
The fourth vessel, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) named eagle verona, completed its transit on Saturday and is now on its way to Ningbo, China. Registered in Singapore and owned by Malaysia’s MISC, it is chartered by Sinopec and is carrying around 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. Similar to the other operators, both Sinopec and MISC refrained from commenting on the passage through the Strait.
Moreover, maritime intelligence firm Windward AI has studied the evasive strategies of “shadow fleet tankers” and frequently points out the risks associated with their operations. They noted that eagle verona used electronic warfare tactics, including GPS jamming and turning off Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), to minimize risks while escaping through the strait.
This suggests that the eagle verona did not cross the strait with the support or awareness of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is reported to be demanding hefty ransoms to release some vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf.
Windward AI also shared that its data shows a complex staging setup has emerged off the Iranian coast, with multiple tankers operating close to shore during the night—a clear attempt by Iran to dodge U.S. blockades.
On another note, the port of Fujairah in the UAE saw a South Korean VLCC loading 1.35 million barrels of crude oil on Sunday, likely in preparation for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz due to possible U.S.-Iran negotiations.
