Traffic picking up in Strait of Hormuz as talks progress, tracking data shows

Three stranded supertankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz today, while seven empty Qatar-linked liquefied natural gas tankers have entered in recent weeks in an early sign Gulf gas shipping may be resuming, ship-tracking data shows.

Iranian-linked tankers also continue to transit the vital waterway, according to the data, with traffic picking up yesterday as US-Iran talks progressed.

More crude oil cargoes stranded in the Gulf since the start of the war are expected to make their way out now, analysts say, while a growing number of sanctioned tankers have been plying the strait to load and export Iranian oil after the US waived sanctions.

Two Trafigura-operated Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each carrying 2 million barrels of crude, exited the strait today. One, Dubai Energy, was chartered by Taiwanese state energy firm CPC, and the second, Legio X Equestris was chartered by TotalEnergies, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

Another VLCC, Universal Glory, chartered by South Korean refiner GS Caltex, also left the strait today with 2 million barrels of Saudi crude onboard, the data shows. GS Caltex declined to comment.

Two sanctioned Suezmax tankers — Sobar and Sarak — were heading into the strait today, the data showed. Each of them can carry 1 million barrels of oil.