(Adnkronos) – For the first time since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, a non-Iranian oil tanker has crossed the Strait of Hormuz keeping its automatic identification system (AIS) active. This was reported by the naval monitoring company MarineTraffic, specifying that it is the Pakistani oil tanker ‘Karachi’, which entered Iranian territorial waters yesterday. The ship, which transports crude oil from Abu Dhabi, is probably traveling at full load.
The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial route for oil and gas exports from Gulf countries, with about a fifth of global production transiting through it in normal times, but traffic has been severely reduced for weeks due to Iranian attacks. Tehran claims the strait is closed “only for our enemies”.
According to ‘Lloyd’s List Intelligence’, since the beginning of the war on February 28, only 77 ships have crossed the strait, mostly belonging to the so-called ‘shadow fleet’, outside traditional insurance and tracking systems. Since March 1, 20 commercial vessels, including nine oil tankers, have suffered attacks or incidents in the area, according to the British maritime security agency UKMTO.
