Amid rising tensions in West Asia, the first tanker carrying non-Iranian crude oil has crossed the conflict-torn Strait of Hormuz and reached India. According to the data of S&P Global Commodities at Sea, this ship named Shenlong has come to India carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, this tanker had left from Saudi Arabia’s main oil export terminal Ras Tanura Oil Terminal on March 1 and reached Mumbai, India on March 10. This development has come to light at a time when the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz has reduced significantly due to the ongoing conflict in the region.
Indication of oil loading found from draft
According to S&P, upon reaching Mumbai, the draft of the ship i.e. the depth of the ship in water was 15.8 meters, while at Ras Tanura it was 9.3 meters. This indicates that a large quantity of crude oil was loaded into the ship. However, the final destination of the ship is not yet clear. According to ship tracking data, the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) was turned off before crossing the strait and was turned on again after crossing. This ship is owned by Shenlong Shipping Ltd. It is owned and operated by Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., a Greek company. Still working.
The number of ships passing through Hormuz decreased
Due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz has reduced significantly. Normally about 60 tankers pass through here every day, but at present this number has come down to only 23.
This Strait of Hormuz is considered an important route for about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply and about 50 percent of India’s energy imports also come through this route. In such a situation, any kind of disruption here can have an impact on the global energy market.
India is increasing imports through alternative routes
Considering the situation, Indian refiners are now trying to increase oil imports through alternative routes. Under this, the pipelines of Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are being used which have been specially built to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
However, experts say that these alternative routes cannot completely compensate for the supplies coming from Hormuz. If this crisis continues for a long time, it can have a wide-ranging impact on oil supplies, stocks and prices.