A crude oil tanker bound for Korea that dramatically crossed the Strait of Hormuz just before the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps moved to blockade it following U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran is drawing attention.
According to HD Hyundai Oilbank and others on the 4th, the Malaysia-flagged crude carrier Eagle Valour, which departed Iraq's southern Al Basra port on the 26th of last month, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the 28th of last month, two days later. Contracted to transport crude for HD Hyundai Oilbank, the Eagle Valour is a 336-meter, 300,000-ton ultralarge crude carrier carrying about 2 million Barrel of crude. That is close to Korea's daily crude consumption.
Initially, the Eagle Valour was scheduled to transit the Strait of Hormuz at normal speed. But after the United States and Israel carried out large-scale airstrikes on Iran's leadership and military facilities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began transmitting radio warnings to merchant ships near the strait saying, "No vessel can pass through the Strait of Hormuz," disrupting operations.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway with an average width of only about 50 kilometers. As roughly 20% of the world's seaborne crude must pass through it, it is a strategic chokepoint known as the "global energy artery." Because of the depth, most of the routes that ultralarge crude carriers like the Eagle Valour can use lie within Iranian territorial waters.
The Eagle Valour reportedly made it safely out of the Strait of Hormuz by deciding to increase speed just before the blockade. Real-time ship position and route images capturing the scene show many vessels stuck in the Arabian Sea and Iraqi waters without being able to pass through the strait, while only the Eagle Valour appears to have made it out.
The Eagle Valour is currently sailing at about 11 knots. It is scheduled to arrive at Daesan Port in Seosan, South Chungcheong, on the morning of the 20th.
In addition to the Eagle Valour, one more ultralarge crude carrier is confirmed to have passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel's name is VERY LUCKY. True to its name, it passed through the strait on the 26th of last month, two days before the blockade announcement.