Windward: Sanctioned and falsely flagged vessels dominate Hormuz traffic

April 6 ------ Windward looks at rising Strait of Hormuz transits, highlighting increased use of Iran’s IRGC-controlled Larak Island corridor by sanctioned and falsely flagged vessels alongside Omani ships reverting to the normal channel, as regional crude flows shift with Iraqi exports also plunging.

Strait of Hormuz transits rise

According to Windward, three of the four bulk carriers that exited on April 1 were Greece-owned and one China-owned. This signals that EU as well as Asia shipowners are negotiating at both diplomatic and commercial levels to use the permission-based system.

Sanctioned, Iran-linked tankers dominated inbound transits on April 1. There were nine inbound transits (7 tankers and 2 cargo vessels) tracked via AIS. Vessels involved in the transport of containerized goods and dry bulk commodities from Iran dominated outbound transits (4 cargo and 2 tankers), according to AIS signals.  62% of transits were on sanctioned vessels with falsely flagged tankers flown by 6 ships. Fraudulent registries used included Madagascar, Botswana and Aruba. Three falsely broadcast they were using Comoros.

All 16 ships used the route via Larak Island, a permission-based, selective blockade imposed by Iran around March 14. The route circumvents the normal channel with vessels hugging Iran’s coastline within territorial waters to go through. The 16 vessels that transited April 1 all took the IRGC-controlled corridor

Oman ships exit strait & avoid IRGC corridor

Three Omani-controlled ships – two tankers and one liquefied natural gas carrier – transited the Strait of Hormuz, avoiding the re-routed, IRGC-controlled corridor used for nearly three weeks. The transits, the first for an LNG carrier since the war began, was observed as representatives from 35 countries held a virtual meeting to discuss how to reopen the crucial energy commodities artery to global maritime traffic.

Iran said it was drafting a protocol with Oman for Hormuz Strait traffic, as the UAE asked the United Nations to authorize measures including the use of force.

The three ships, two Marshall Islands-flagged very large crude carriers and the Panama-flagged LNG carrier all switched off their AIS shortly after beginning the transit over the morning of April 2. The two VLCCs were signaling via AIS that they were laden, while the LNG carrier appeared to be in ballast.

Oman’s ships used the normal, international channel previously used for Hormuz transits and are the first seen using the prior route since March 14.

Iraq oil exports plunge over March

While Saudi Arabia and the UAE are ramping up exports of crude via alternative pipelines to offset the Hormuz closure, Iraqi oil shipped via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan averaged 135,000 bpd over March, down from 236,000 bpd the prior month, Vortexa data show.

Iraq is said to be accelerating use of the northern pipeline, but this is yet to show in weekly exports data. Exports plunged 3m bpd in March, to 645,000 bpd.

Saudi Arabia ramped up crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu via pipeline to 3.3m bpd in March, the highest monthly pace in records going back to 2017. Crude exports were at 800,000 bpd in February.

Source: safety4sea.com