Three Oil Tankers Carrying 5 Million Barrels of Crude Exit the Strait of Hormuz
Alina Collins
Three previously stranded tankers carried roughly 5 million barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday — two headed for Asia — signaling that the backlog in the Persian Gulf is clearing faster after the interim U.S.–Iran deal, and putting fresh pressure on global oil prices.
What cargo is on each ship, and where is it going?
South Korean VLCC VL Breeze, chartered by refiner Hyundai Oilbank, is carrying about 2 million barrels of Qatari condensate and Abu Dhabi crude toward Daesan, South Korea.
Liberian-flagged VLCC Plata Carrier, chartered by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), is exiting the strait with roughly 2 million barrels of Saudi crude.
Suezmax tanker Prudent Warrior, also Liberian-flagged, carries about 1 million barrels of Iraqi Basra crude bound for Sohar, Oman.
How much oil is still stuck in the Gulf?
South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said 18 of the 26 vessels stranded since the conflict began are still inside the Persian Gulf.
Kpler and Vortexa analysts estimated last week that nearly 90 million barrels of crude remain backed up in the Gulf. This means → Wednesday's 5-million-barrel departure is roughly 5.5% of the total backlog — the unclogging has barely begun.
In plain terms = a 90-million-barrel warehouse just shipped its first 5 million; the queue is still very long.
How did they get out — is there a temporary sea lane?
Oman has opened a temporary shipping lane on each side of the existing channel to help vessels exit safely, charging no transit fees.
It remains unclear whether the three tankers used the lane set up by Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
This reflects a safety framework still being built on the fly — formal transit rules are not yet fully in place.
What is happening on the LNG side?
Empty LNG carriers Shandong Redwood and Milaha Qatar have appeared west of the strait, preparing to load liquefied natural gas in Qatar.
The number of empty LNG ships entering the strait to load has reached nine — the highest since the conflict began. This means → the natural-gas supply chain is restarting in parallel, not just crude.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar expects to resume normal LNG production within weeks.
Can the unclogging continue — where is the bottleneck?
The pace of supply release ultimately hinges on two things: progress in implementing the interim U.S.–Iran deal, and whether returning vessel capacity can keep up with the volume of stranded cargo waiting to ship.
In plain terms = the deal determines "can they leave"; fleet availability determines "can they leave fast enough" — lose either condition and the backlog stays.
With 90 million barrels still in the Gulf, global oil prices face continued downward pressure from the supply overhang.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.