finance
Seven Tankers Transit Strait of Hormuz; India Bars Crews, Japan Calls Route No-Go
Iran’s approved channel handled seven crossings while a backed alternate route saw none. India barred its crews from the waterway after one sailor died in an attack, and commercial operators rerouted oil volumes through Syria and planned pipelines.
Jul 19, 4:22 PM·1m read2 sources
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Iran’s approved channel through the Strait of Hormuz handled seven transits on Friday while a backed alternate route recorded zero crossings and no shadow fleet movements occurred. The U.S. military broadcast a message over marine radio stating that forces were prepared to maintain freedom of navigation and safeguard lawful commerce in accordance with international law.
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One seafarer replied “F— off” to the message, according to a recording reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. India barred all Indian crew members from participating in transits through the strait until further notice after an Iranian attack killed one sailor. The chair of the Japan Foreign Trade Council stated that the strait is a no-go zone for commercial ships while fighting continues.
Before the U.S. and Israel launched war on Iran in late February, approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day traveled through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s closure of the waterway produced the world’s largest oil shock to date.
Syria now handles more than 25 percent of Mideast oil volumes via Mediterranean ports after shipping none several months earlier. Kuwait is in talks with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to export its oil via expansions of their pipeline systems. The UAE has fast-tracked a new West-East pipeline that is 50 percent complete and could come online early next year, according to Kpler.
A consortium including Chevron is considering rebuilding the Kirkuk-to-Baniyas pipeline damaged during the Iraq war two decades ago. Turkey has proposed extending the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline south to the Iraqi port of Basra. Goldman Sachs analysts stated in a note last week that added Mideast pipeline capacity could insulate over 45 percent of pre-war Gulf exports by the end of next year, over 60 percent by the end of 2028, and up to 75 percent in an accelerated scenario.
