The crude oil tanker Odessa, carrying UAE crude after passing through the Strait of Hormuz with its Automatic Identification System transponder turned off, navigates the waters at Daesan port, where it is expected to discharge crude oil, in Seosan, South Korea, May 8, 2026. REUTERS\/Kim Soo-hyeon<\/p>\n
Chinese Supertanker Attempts Hormuz Passage, Data Show<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0A Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude was attempting to sail through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to LSEG and Kpler ship-tracking data.<\/p>\n
The Very Large Crude Carrier<\/p>\n
was past Iran\u2019s Larak Island and was on the eastern side of the strait and heading south, the data showed.<\/p>\n
If successful, the voyage would mark the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker through the<\/p>\n
the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran<\/p>\n
on Feb. 28, based on available ship-tracking data.<\/p>\n
over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.<\/p>\n
Other countries are exploring similar deals, sources said, in a move that could normalize Tehran\u2019s control of the waterway on a more permanent basis.<\/p>\n
The Chinese VLCC is owned and operated by COSCO\u00a0Shipping\u00a0Energy Transportation\u2019s\u00a0600026.SS\u00a0Hainan unit and chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese state oil major Sinopec\u00a0600028.SS.<\/p>\n
COSCO\u00a0Shipping\u00a0Energy Transportation and Sinopec did not immediately respond to requests for comments.<\/p>\n
loaded nearly 2 million barrels of Basrah Medium crude at Iraq\u2019s Basrah terminal in early March and has remained stranded inside the Gulf since then, according to the tracking data. It is headed to Asia.<\/p>\n
exited the Strait of Hormuz on April 11.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/tmsnrt.rs\/48Wjzmc<\/p>\n