India’s Petronet sent a liquefied natural gas tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, the only shipment on Monday since the United States and Iran reached a peace deal to reopen the strategic waterway, shiptracking data showed.
The limited traffic underscores wariness among shippers who have welcomed the deal but are still waiting for more details -including mine clearance in the strait – before allowing their vessels to pass through.
Global oil prices fellabout 4% on Monday as the United States and Iran are expected to sign the memorandum of understanding on Friday in Switzerland which will outline steps taken to resume shipping through the strait.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28 has largely stopped shipping through the strait, the transit route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, along with vital products such as aluminium and urea.
LNG tanker Disha picked up its cargo at Qatar’s Ras Laffan on March 1-2 and had been west of the strait since, data from Kpler and LSEG showed.
While shiptracking data did not indicate the tanker’s destination, a source familiar with the matter said the cargo will be delivered to the Dahej terminal in India.
Petronet did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
An estimated 155 tankers, carrying oil and chemicals, were in the Mideast Gulf area as of June 15, shiptracking data from Kpler showed, down from 201 tankers at the end of May.
Oil Brokerage’s estimate stood at 215 tankers.
“We expect free passages will have to build over the weeks for the wider shipping community to gain confidence,” said Anoop Singh, Oil Brokerage’s global head of shipping research.
“Till such time, physical freight rates will likely remain elevated, and trading will remain slow.”
Under unrestricted navigation, the traffic pile-up on either side can be resolved in 8-10 days by OB’s calculations, Singh said.
“Furthermore, ship owners have positioned nearly 60 more VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) than usual within a few days of sailing to the ports West of Hormuz, in anticipation.”
A spokesperson for the Japanese Shipowners’ Association said on Monday that while the group welcomed the peace agreement, it wanted to “wait a little longer for more concrete information” when the U.S.-Iran pact is signed on June 19.
There had been news reports that mines had been laid in the area, the spokesperson said, adding: “Given the situation, we cannot simply say, ‘Right then, let’s go’ based on news of the agreement alone.”
Nippon Yusen, the country’s biggest shipper, said it hoped operations would return to normal as soon as possible, but a spokesperson added it was too early to comment on the schedules of Japan-linked vessels stranded in the Gulf.
He declined to say how many of the company’s ships remain in the Gulf.
A Mitsui O.S.K. Lines spokesperson said: “While we are aware of signs of progress towards a ceasefire, our policy remains unchanged; we will only resume navigation once safety has been fully confirmed.”
(Reporting by Emily Chow, Jeslyn Lerh and Trixie Yap in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Kentaro Okasaka and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kim Coghill)