First oil tanker from Gulf headed to Europe since March, maritime tracking firm says

A tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil is heading toward Europe having left the Gulf at the end of May, the first such shipment since March, data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler shows.

The Advantage Victory, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on May 27 without indicating its destination.

The vessel revealed its destination only on Monday, with its AIS signal indicating “NL RTM,” the code for Rotterdam in the Netherlands, one of Europe’s biggest ports.

It is scheduled to arrive on July 7.

The tanker, which was loaded with Iraqi oil at Basra on February 24 and March 1, is currently off the coast of Madagascar, according to its transponder.

It was the first tanker to traverse the Strait of Hormuz with oil heading to Europe since March 1, when the ship New Vision left the Gulf amid the confusion after the United States and Israel launched their war with Iran on February 28. Iran subsequently largely blocked the strait to non-Iranian traffic.

The tanker unloaded in Le Havre, France and Southwold, Britain in early April.

Around 103 oil tankers have left the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz since March 1, carrying a total of 185 million barrels of crude oil, according to Kpler data.

From the beginning of the war until mid-April, when the US blockade of Iranian ports began, oil leaving the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz was primarily Iranian, at 81 percent.

Since mid-April, tankers have come mainly from other Gulf countries (84 percent), with most unloading for clients in Asia or the Middle East.

The destination of some tankers, primarily Iranian, is unknown.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.