A very large crude carrier (VLCC) subchartered by Jangkum Maritime, known internationally as Sinokor and an affiliate of Korean shipping company Sinokor Merchant Marine, has successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz amid the prolonged blockade caused by the war between the United States and Iran.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing shipping data from Kpler and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), that three tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month with their location tracking devices switched off. The vessels were Sinokor's "Basra Energy," "Agios Panourios I," and "Kiara M," all VLCCs.
Basra Energy loaded 2 million barrels of crude oil on the 1st at the Zirku crude export terminal operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), then passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the 6th. The vessel subsequently discharged its cargo on the 8th at the UAE's Fujairah crude terminal, located outside the Strait of Hormuz.
However, Sinokor Merchant Marine explained that Basra Energy had been short-term chartered by Sinokor from another shipowner and then subchartered out, meaning the company was not directly involved in this passage through the Strait of Hormuz. For this reason, the vessel was not included among the 26 Korea-related ships managed by the Korean government. There are no Korean crew members aboard.
Agios Panourios I, another vessel that passed through the strait, is scheduled to unload crude oil at Vietnam's Nghi Son refinery on the 26th of this month. The destination of the San Marino-flagged Kiara M is unknown. The vessel, owned by a Marshall Islands-registered entity, is managed by a Shanghai-based company in China. Reuters, in reporting the three tankers' passage through the Strait of Hormuz, assessed that this shows growing efforts to maintain Middle Eastern crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, Sinokor is reported to have deployed three to four empty tankers in the Persian Gulf for four weeks from late January this year. Industry observers speculate that Sinokor's tankers, though stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the Iran war, have earned massive profits by serving as "floating storage" for crude oil from Gulf producers whose export routes were blocked.
Sinokor is known to have built up formidable market influence in recent years through bold bets on steadily acquiring or leasing tankers. As of the end of last month, the number of VLCCs under Sinokor's control is estimated at around 150.
