Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Despite the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has continued to ship crude oil to China through the strategic waterway, raising concerns that East Asian economies such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan could bear the brunt of the disruption.

According to CNBC on March 11 (local time), Iran has transported at least 11.7 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28, with all shipments reportedly bound for China. The figures were disclosed by Samir Madani, co-founder of tanker monitoring firm TankerTrackers.com, in an interview with CNBC.

Madani said TankerTrackers tracks vessels using satellite imagery, allowing it to detect ships even when their tracking systems are turned off. Many vessels operating near the strait have reportedly disabled tracking after Iran warned it could attack ships passing through the area. Satellite images identified six tankers departing Iran after Feb. 28, three of which were Iranian-flagged.

Shipping analytics firm Kpler estimated that around 12 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began. Kpler oil analyst Nwe Ni Khin Soe said most of the oil was likely headed to China, which has been the primary buyer of Iranian crude in recent years.

According to Kpler, Iran exported an average of 2.16 million barrels of oil per day in February, all of which was shipped to China. During the week of Feb. 16, exports reportedly reached a record 3.78 million barrels per day.

China has also been boosting its strategic reserves in response to energy supply risks. Customs data showed that in the first two months of the year, China increased its crude oil stockpiles by 15.8% year-on-year.

The Atlantic Council estimates that China held about 1.2 billion barrels of oil reserves as of January, enough to cover three to four months of domestic demand.

Meanwhile, tensions in global energy markets have intensified this year as U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Venezuela and Iran—two major oil suppliers to China—with sanctions.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which more than one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, has seen a sharp decline in traffic since the conflict began last month, with most international tankers avoiding the waterway.

According to MarineTraffic, as of 7 p.m. Korea time on March 11, vessels passing through the strait were largely limited to Iranian ships and a few Chinese-flagged tankers, including Hailan Journey, Liva Glory, and Skywave.

 

 

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