Saudi supertankers exit Hormuz in kingdom’s biggest oil flow since Iran war truce

Saudi Arabia is exporting the most crude from inside the Persian Gulf since the Iran war blocked the Strait of Hormuz, as producers across the region boost shipments following an interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran.

Four supertankers hauling crude loaded at Saudi Arabia’s main export hub appeared in the Gulf of Oman on July 2, ship-tracking shows. That is the largest number of exits since the peace pact came into effect about two weeks ago.

The ships, all owned by Saudi tanker giant Bahri, are part of a flotilla of vessels more than 300m long that made their way into the Persian Gulf late in June. Together, they are carrying about eight million barrels loaded at the port of Ras Tanura, one of the world’s biggest crude-export facilities, the vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

It is the latest evidence that OPEC’s top producer is ramping up oil exports since traffic began crossing the Hormuz in earnest after the US and Iran agreed to reopen the waterway while they negotiate an end to the war.

Bloomberg reported on July 1 that state-run behemoth Saudi Aramco has sold at least six million barrels of crude on an ad-hoc basis to Asian customers, a departure from its standard practice of long-term deals.

Traffic through Hormuz has picked up, with ships increasingly moving in convoys to clear the strait. Vessels are generally passing through a US-administered corridor in Omani waters, though some are using a route closer to Iran’s coast.

Another Saudi-owned tanker that loaded at Ras Tanura left Hormuz earlier this week.

Only a limited number of Saudi oil tankers remain inside the Persian Gulf. Of the four that remain near Ras Tanura, two are signalling that they are fully loaded, while another has not updated its draft but appeared to load at the port in recent days. BLOOMBERG