Hormuz traffic drops to three ships, with one carrying Iran crude to China

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to three ships on March 9, including the US-sanctioned VLCC CUME, which loaded Iranian crude and is bound for China, according to a March 10 report by S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

The CUME is managed by Harry Victor Ship Management LLC, which is linked to Iran's Trilance Petrochemical Co., according to the US sanctions list. Phone numbers listed for Harry Victor Ship in Dubai were not working.

The Hormuz traffic was down from four ships on March 8, according to the CAS report. The two other ships to exit Hormuz on March 9 were a bitumen tanker and a Panamax bulk carrier, it said.

An estimated 2.2 million barrels of crude were loaded in the Middle East Gulf on March 9, with 1.6 million barrels from Saudi Arabia and 600,300 barrels from Kuwait, according to the report, citing preliminary data. As of March 9, 289 million barrels of Gulf-origin crude were in transit east of Hormuz, having cleared the chokepoint before the Feb. 28 war began, CAS said.

Saudi grades account for 36% of the volume east of Hormuz, followed by Iranian crude at 23% and Iraqi barrels at 19%, according to the report. Nearly 66% of the Iranian cargoes were heading for Southeast Asia, where they will be rerouted and finally end up in China, it said. As of early March 10, there were 114 oil, chemical and LPG tankers anchored in the Gulf of Oman, 79 of which were in ballast state without cargo, it said.