The 308,603-dwt very large crude carrier Yuan Hua Hu, laden with 1.978 million bbl of Iraqi Basrah Medium crude, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to shipping tracking platform Kpler.
The vessel, owned and operated by Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, loaded the cargo at the Al Basrah oil terminal in Iraq on Friday and is now en route to discharge the crude in China.
The latest Hormuz crossing brings the total number of VLCCs exiting the Middle East Gulf with crude oil since the Iran conflict began at the end of February to 65, Kpler data shows.
Despite the Iran-imposed blockade, which has made the strategic waterway nearly impassable for many commercial vessels, several tankers have continued to transit.
In addition to China-bound cargoes, analysts said that Abu Dhabi oil company Adnoc may also be exporting crude from the Gulf via the Hormuz Strait.
The 299,994-dwt Basrah Energy crossed the Strait on May 6 carrying 2 million bbl of Upper Zakum crude bound for export from Fujairah. Earlier, the 299,992-dwt Aliakmon I transited on May 2 with 1.9 million bbl of Das Blend crude heading to Oman. However, it could not be independently confirmed whether these vessels were chartered by Adnoc's shipping arm.
Saudi crude has also been moving through the Strait. The 300,433-dwt Idemitsu Maru loaded around 2 million bbl of a blend of Arab Heavy, Arab Light and Arab Extra Light crude at Juaymah on March 3. The vessel is heading to Idemitsu Kosan's 163,000 b/d Aichi refinery in Nagoya, Japan.
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--Reporting by Thomas Cho, tcho@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2026 02:37 ET (06:37 GMT)
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