Hormuz Traffic Picks Up as US-Iran Talks Advance, Stranded Tankers Begin Moving Out

Two supertankers stranded in the Gulf since the start of the conflict passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, June 23, while seven Qatar-linked liquefied natural gas tankers have entered the waterway in recent weeks, according to a Reuters report.

The developments mark early signs that Gulf energy shipping may be resuming after weeks of disruption.

The Very Large Crude Carrier Dubai Energy, chartered by Taiwanese state energy firm CPC, exited the strait overnight carrying 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi and Saudi crude and is now sailing towards Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Reuters reported, citing LSEG and Kpler data. Another VLCC, Universal Glory, chartered by South Korean refiner GS Caltex, also exited the strait on Tuesday carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude.

Iranian-linked tankers continued to transit the waterway as well, with traffic picking up on Monday as United States-Iran talks progressed. Two sanctioned Suezmax tankers, Sobar and Sarak, each capable of carrying 1 million barrels of oil, were heading into the strait on Tuesday, according to the report.

Talks and Sanctions Relief

The first round of US-Iran talks, which began on Sunday, concluded a day later with both sides agreeing on a roadmap toward a permanent deal within 60 days. The US also announced a sanctions waiver until August 21, easing concerns over global oil and LNG supplies. Oil and LNG prices fell following the announcement.

Traffic through the strait had weakened ahead of the talks amid threats by US President Donald Trump of military action and Tehran's announcement that it had shut the waterway. More crude oil cargoes stranded in the Gulf are now expected to move out, while a growing number of sanctioned tankers have been loading and exporting Iranian oil following the sanctions waiver, Reuters reported.

Seven ballast QatarEnergy-controlled tankers moved west into the Gulf to reload between June 11 and June 22, as per the report. These were the first such voyages since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

The first three tankers to make inbound transits, Al Hamla, Al Areesh and Al Khuwair, did so with their automatic identification systems switched off, according to Vortexa. They were last seen outside the strait in mid-June and reappeared on ship-tracking data between June 19 and June 23. The remaining four, Wadi Al Sail, Mekaines, Al Sadd and Mesaimeer, entered the strait on Monday via the Iranian route.

On the outbound side, QatarEnergy-controlled tanker Al Ghashamiya, which had been last seen inside the strait on June 9 carrying a cargo loaded from Ras Laffan on March 1, reappeared outside the strait on June 22, according to Reuters.

An explosion at a gas processing facility inside the Ras Laffan industrial complex occurred on Monday, though Qatar's energy minister said the country's LNG facilities were not impacted.