A Pakistan-flagged tanker has become the first crude carrier to exit through the Strait of Hormuz with a cargo since a US blockade began earlier this week, in a rare passage that underlines how restricted traffic remains through the vital chokepoint.
Shalamar sailed out into the Gulf of Oman late on Thursday after loading around 450,000 barrels of crude at the UAE, according to ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic. The vessel is signalling Karachi as its destination.
Its crossing marks the first known crude-laden tanker to leave the Gulf through Hormuz since the US blockade took effect on Monday, amid heightened risks for shipowners operating in the region.
Separately, in a parallel sign of how Asian importers are scrambling to bypass Hormuz, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday said on X that a South Korean tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia had exited the Red Sea, marking the country’s first such shipment since the Hormuz blockade.
Earlier, South Korea’s Fisheries Ministry said the vessel had safely left the Red Sea as Seoul sought to secure energy supplies through alternative routes.
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