Middle East producers are pushing ahead with loading oil and liquefied natural gas despite fresh ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and renewed strikes between the US and Iran in recent days, shipping data shows, according to Reuters.
Today, a fourth Very Large Crude Carrier, capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, was seen loading at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura terminal, LSEG data showed, even after a helicopter belonging to the company crashed on Sunday, killing 14 people. The cause of the crash was unknown.
Three other VLCCs have loaded oil and gone dark since leaving the terminal over the weekend, according to the data. Going dark refers to vessels with their transponders switched off to reduce the risk of attack while sailing through the Gulf.
One of these supertankers emerged today, having exited the strait, and is now heading for Japan, the data showed.
