(Bloomberg) — A supertanker hauling Iraqi crude to China has left the Persian Gulf and crossed the US blockade line into the Arabian Sea, as talks continue to end the war between the US and Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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The very large crude carrier Eagle Verona crossed into the Arabian Sea from the Gulf of Oman carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude to China, vessel tracking data compiled by Blomberg show.
Tanker departures from the Persian Gulf are being closely watched by the oil market as most ships remain stuck in the area since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after it was attacked by the US and Israel at the end of February. The closure of the waterway has stopped most ships from leaving and prevented others from entering the oil and gas-rich region.
The US and Iran are inching toward a deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The two sides are closing in on an agreement that would reopen the waterway, senior US officials said Sunday. President Donald Trump earlier said a peace deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated,” but Iran’s Fars agency dismissed this as “far from reality” without citing anyone.
The VLCC loaded its cargo at the Basra Oil Terminal on Feb. 28, the tracking data show and is now heading to the Chinese port of Ningbo, where it is scheduled to arrive on June 12.
The tanker’s departure follows that of a liquefied natural gas carrier, the Al Hamra, carrying the first shipment of the superchilled fuel from the Persian Gulf destined for India since the Iran war began.
Thirty-three vessels, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial craft, sailed through the Strait of Hormuz over the previous 24 hours after obtaining authorization from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported on Sunday, citing an IRGC statement.
Meanwhile, the US Navy, which imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in mid-April that it had redirected 100 commercial vessels during its six-week-long blockade of Iran’s ports, US Central Command said in a post on X Saturday.
The Eagle Verona is owned by AET Inc PTE Ltd, a Malaysian company based in Singapore, according to the Equasis maritime database. The company did not respond to an email sent outside office hours on Sunday. AET is part of the MISC Group, itself a member of the PETRONAS Group of Companies, company websites show. MISC and AET share an address in Singapore, according to Equasis.







