Two India-bound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers loaded in the Gulf appear to have transited the Strait of Hormuz, adding to a recent uptick in energy shipments through the critical waterway despite continuing US and Iranian restrictions, ship-tracking data showed Thursday.
The LPG carriers Symi and NV Sunshine became the latest large vessels to pass through the strait.
The Symi emerged in the Gulf of Oman after turning off its transponder, while the NV Sunshine stopped signaling shortly after it appeared to have passed through the strait.
Their passages brought the number of large ships carrying oil, fuel, and gas through Hormuz since Sunday to nine, marking an increase from recent weeks as negotiations to end the Iran war remain deadlocked.
The NV Sunshine, which loaded LPG at the UAE’s Ruwais refinery, last transmitted its location east of Iran’s Larak Island early Thursday, showing Mangalore, India, as its destination.
The Symi was transporting fuel from Qatar’s Ras Laffan to Kandla in western India.
A growing number of Gulf exporters have managed to move cargo through the strait, including vessels not broadcasting their locations. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has been among exporters shipping fuel on such vessels.
The other seven vessels that recently crossed Hormuz included two LPG carriers, four very large crude carriers, and one liquefied natural gas tanker.
Some vessels remain inside the US blockade line stretching from Ras al Hadd in Oman to the Iran-Pakistan border.
The Agios Fanourios I, a Vietnam-bound supertanker carrying Iraqi crude, was idling in the Gulf of Oman after the US Navy turned it around.
The Chinese tanker Yuan Hua Hu crossed the American blockade line, while Japan’s Eneos Endeavor was sailing close to the line. Another very large gas carrier, Tara Gas, which has previously been linked to Iranian trade, also crossed the US line in the direction of India.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and global markets. Its disruption has intensified concerns over oil, fuel, and gas supplies since the start of the Iran war.
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
Anadolu Agency
