SINGAPORE: An oil tanker sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, heading to a port in the United Arab Emirates to load crude oil in an unprecedented voyage since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Middle East, industry sources and ship tracking data said.
According to LSEG data, the Suez Max tanker Pola switched off its AIS tracking device late on March 2 as it approached the strait, and resurfaced off the coast of Abu Dhabi on March 3.
The ship was heading to Jebel Dhanna port to load Abu Dhabi Murban crude destined for Thailand, two trade officials said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Dynacom Tankers, which manages the ship, could not be reached for comment outside business hours.
The U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran has halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Iran attacking ships and energy facilities, shutting down Gulf shipping, and forcing countries from Qatar to Iraq to shut down production.
According to Vortexa ship tracking data, the number of crude oil tankers passing through the strait fell from an average of 24 a day since January to just four on March 1, the day after the fighting broke out.
(Reporting by Florence Tan, Lenny Maltezou, Ron Busso, Georgina McCartney, Arashi Somasekhar and Shariq Khan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
