Dynacom-operated VLCC carrying Saudi crude passes through Strait of Hormuz
GREEK operator Dynacom has sent another tanker eastbound through the Strait of Hormuz, laden with Saudi crude oil, with its Automatic Identification System switched off.
The Liberian-flagged, 149,998 dwt Smyrni(IMO: 9493779) passed the strait westbound on March 1 while ballast, after switching its AIS off, before berthing at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura terminal on March 3.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel tracking, the very large crude carrier left the port on March 5, laden with Saudi crude oil, and did not send AIS data for five days while off Dubai. Smyrni was also affected by the GNSS interference in the region.
On March 14, the tanker showed up off Mumbai, where it is currently anchored.
On Saturday (March 14), Iranian authorities approved the transit of two Indian-flagged LPG carriers through the Strait of Hormuz bound for India, which has been suffering with a shortage of LPG due to disruption at the critical chokepoint.
It is not yet clear if Smyrni was also allowed safe passage due to its cargo bound for India, nevertheless this is not the first time a Dynacom tanker made it through the strait heading for the country.
Liberia-flagged Shenlong (IMO: 9379210) suezmax transited around March 8 carrying Saudi Arabian crude, again loaded at the port of Ras Tanura, before arriving at Mumbai’s anchorage.
Dynacom tankers’ transiting through the strait are not limited to eastbound legs; the Malta-flagged, 158,000 dwt Marathi (IMO: 9772357) passed the strait westbound on the first day of the war, and loaded Saudi crude at Ras Tanura on March 4.
Marathi left the port shortly after, bound for Sikka, but its AIS data has been off since March 11.
After Iran intensified its attacks on shipping on March 11 and 12, there has been a relative calm in and around the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
The Liberia-flagged, 74,999 dwt Athina (IMO: 9389564), another tanker operated by Dynacom, loaded gasoil in Sitrah, Bahrain, on March 2, after passing the strait on the onset of the war on February 28.
It had been sailing toward the strait, without giving any destination, but has had its AIS data turned off since March 11.
Meanwhile, the 75,000 dwt KAVOMALEAS (IMO: 1042823) loaded gasoline at Jubail on March 14, according to Vortexa. The Malta-flagged tanker is a member of Dynacom’s fleet which passed the Strait of Hormuz westbound to load cargo after the war started, appearing in the Middle East Gulf on March 3 after a few days of not sharing its location. Its AIS now shows its destination as Ras Tanura.
There are at least two more Dynacom tankers in the Middle East Gulf, which passed the chokepoint ballast after the war started on February 28. Both remain waiting in ballast, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
In the first 10 days of the war, a total of 16 tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz, including two VLCCs and three suezmaxes. Most of them were Iran-linked shadow fleet* vessels, apart from several Dynacom tankers.
Last week, US President Donald Trump reportedly urged other shipowners to “show some guts” by transiting the strait.
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