Oil Tankers Transiting Strait of Hormuz Since Start of Iran War

The U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Here’s a look at some of the non-Iranian oil tankers that have passed through the strait since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, listed by cargo destination, according to data from LSEG and Kpler.

JAPAN

Very large crude carrier (VLCC) Eneos Endeavor, managed by Japanese refining group Eneos and carrying 1.2 million barrels of Kuwait crude and 700,000 barrels of Emirati Das Blend oil, exited the strait as of May 14.

The tanker loaded in late February and is expected to arrive in Japan on June 3, according to Kpler.

The first VLCC to exit, the Idemitsu Maru carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil, will arrive at Nagoya in Japan on May 25.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

VLCC Basrah Energy loaded 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s (ADNOC) Zirku terminal on May 1 and exited the Strait of Hormuz on May 6, Kpler data showed.

It offloaded its cargo at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminals on May 8.

In April, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. managed to export at least 4 million barrels of its Upper Zakum crude and 2 million barrels of Das crude on four tankers from terminals inside the Gulf.

VIETNAM

Agios Fanourios I, a VLCC tanker loaded with Iraqi crude and bound for Vietnam crossed the Strait of Hormuz through Iran’s designated route on May 10, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

However, the U.S. Navy has redirected the tanker as part of ongoing enforcement of its blockade against Iran.

INDIA

At least two VLCCs and two suezmax tankers exited the Gulf in March and April to offload crude in India.

VLCC Habrut, which crossed the strait on April 2, discharged Abu Dhabi crude for Indian Oil Corp. at Paradip on April 20.

Meanwhile, VLCC Marathi discharged Saudi crude at the Sikka port for Reliance Industries on March 28, Kpler data showed.

Suezmax Smyrni exited the strait on March 12 and discharged 1 million barrels of Saudi crude at Mumbai for state refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. on March 16, the data showed. Another suezmax Shenlong left the strait on March 6 and discharged the same amount of Saudi crude at Mumbai on March 11.

Tanker Msg, laden with residual fuel, was headed to India’s Pipavav port after passing the strait on April 9, Kpler data showed. Tanker Navara, which sailed through the strait on March 31, discharged fuel oil at Sikka port on April 8, the data showed.

SOUTH KOREA

Liberian-flagged tanker Navig8 Macallister is shipping about 500,000 barrels of UAE’s naphtha to Ulsan in South Korea.

Maltese-flagged Odessa laden with Middle East crude passed through the strait on April 13. It discharged its cargo at South Korea’s Daesan port for refiner Hyundai Oilbank on May 9.

THAILAND

A Thai oil tanker owned by Bangchak Corp BCP.BKsafely passed through the Strait of Hormuz following diplomatic coordination between Thailand and Iran, and was not required to pay to escape the blockade, a Thai official and the oil major that owns the vessel said on March 25.

The Liberian-flagged Suezmax tanker Pola discharged 1 million barrels of Khafji crude at Singapore and Thailand in April, Kpler data showed.

CHINA

VLCC Yuan Hua Hu, carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude, is expected to arrive at eastern China’s Zhoushan port on June 1, the data showed, after it exited the strait on May 13.

Another two Chinese-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai exited the Strait of Hormuz on April 11.

Hong Kong-flagged Cospearl Lake, laden with almost 1.9 million barrels of Iraqi oil, discharged its cargo on May 2 at Ningbo.

He Rong Hai discharged 2.1 million barrels of Saudi crude in Myanmar on April 22. Crude discharged at Myanmar typically goes to PetroChina’s Yunnan refinery.

Both VLCCs are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese energy giant Sinopec.

VLCC Dhalkut, which passed through the strait on April 2, also discharged 2 million barrels of Saudi crude at Myanmar on April 16.

On March 31, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that three Chinese ships recently sailed through the Strait of Hormuz after coordination with relevant parties.

MALAYSIA

Liberian-flagged VLCC Serifos exited the strait on April 10. The tanker, carrying crude loaded from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in early March, discharged its cargo at Malaysia’s Malacca port on April 30.

Ocean Thunder, loaded with Iraqi crude and chartered by a unit of Malaysian state energy firm Petronas, passed through the strait on April 5 and discharged its cargo of 1 million barrels of Basrah Heavy crude at Malaysia’s Pengerang on April 18.

Both tankers are among seven Malaysia-linked vessels cleared by Iran to transit the strait, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

(Reporting by Ruth Chai and Florence Tan; editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Photograph: Oil tankers navigates the sea near Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 28, 2026; photo credit: Asghar Besharati/Getty Images