Two supertankers exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday while another is making its way out, after waiting in the Gulf for more than two months with 6 million barrels of Middle East crude oil onboard, shipping data on LSEG and Kpler showed.
The ships are among a handful of supertankers exiting the Gulf this month via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran which began on February 28 has severely curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one fifth of the world’s supply of oil and energy normally flows.
Read more: Iran Starts Bitcoin-Backed Shipping Insurance for Hormuz Strait
South Korean-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Universal Winner, carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude loaded on March 4, is exiting the strait following the departure of two Chinese tankers on Wednesday, the data showed. Kpler data showed the tanker is heading to Ulsan, where the country’s largest refiner SK Energy is located, to discharge its cargo on June 9.
SK Energy declined to comment. A spokesperson for HMM, the owner and manager of the VLCC, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Chinese Tankers
Chinese-flagged VLCC Yuan Gui Yang loaded 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude on February 27, a day before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started, the data showed.
The vessel, chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, which exited the strait earlier on Wednesday, is expected to reach Shuidong Port near Maoming city in southern Guangdong province, on June 4 to discharge its cargo, according to the data.
Hong Kong-flagged VLCC Ocean Lily loaded 1 million barrels each of Qatari al-Shaheen and Iraqi Basrah crude between late February and early March, the data showed.
The vessel, owned by Chinese major Sinochem, is expected to reach Quanzhou Port in eastern Fujian province on June 5 to discharge its cargo.
Sinopec, Sinochem and Cosco Shipping, which own and manage Yuan Gui Yang, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last week, VLCC Yuan Hua Hu exited the strait with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil and headed for eastern China’s Zhoushan Port.
Separately, Cypriot-flagged VLCC Grand Lady has entered the Strait of Hormuz with its transponder off, LSEG data showed. The empty tanker is anchored off Dubai, LSEG data showed. The tanker’s manager Eastern Mediterranean Maritime could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore, Kyu-seok Shim and Joyce Lee in Seoul; editing by Jacqueline Wong, Lincoln Feast and Sharon Singleton)
Photograph: Vessels offshore in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran on May 4, 2026; photo credit: Amirhossein Khorgooei/AFP/Getty Images
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