Another Greek-controlled oil tanker has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the fourth such voyage since hostilities in the Middle East began.
The Suezmax Pola, which switched off its tracking system in the Persian Gulf on March 10, was detected again on Monday by the Automatic Identification System. The ship was sailing in the eastern Indian Ocean near the maritime corridor off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, according to vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Its reappearance indicates the tanker successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint that has seen sharply reduced commercial traffic since the US and Israel started their war on Iran.
The tanker, laden with roughly 1 million barrels of crude, is en route to Thailand, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler.
While Iran continues to bar “hostile” entities from the strategic waterway, several Asian countries, including Thailand, have secured bilateral agreements to allow passage through the Strait for some tankers and cargo ships.
The Pola is the fourth vessel managed by Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. to make the passage through Hormuz with its transponder switched off since its effective closure. The firm also sent the oil tankers Shenlong, Smyrni and Marathi through the narrow waterway earlier this month.
The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The risks to shipping in the Persian Gulf remain high, with Iran hitting a fully laden Kuwaiti tanker off Dubai in a drone strike.
Source: Bloomberg