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Chinese Tankers Exit Strait of Hormuz with 4 Million Barrels of Crude Oil
By Reuters | 19 May, 2026

Two Chinese supertankers exited the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use.

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 18, 2026. REUTERS

Two Chinese supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Middle East crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after waiting in the Gulf for more than two months, shipping data on LSEG and Kpler showed.

The ships are among a handful of supertankers carrying Iraqi crude exiting the Gulf this month via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use.

Chinese-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Yuan Gui Yang loaded 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude on February 27, a day before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started, the data showed.

The vessel, chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec, is expected to reach Shuidong Port near Maoming city in southern Guangdong province, on June 4 to discharge its cargo, according to the data.

Hong Kong-flagged VLCC Ocean Lily loaded 1 million barrels each of Qatari al-Shaheen and Iraqi Basrah crude between late February and early March, the data showed.

The vessel, owned by Chinese major Sinochem, is expected to reach Quanzhou Port in eastern Fujian province on June 5 to discharge its cargo.

Sinopec, Sinochem and Cosco Shipping, who own and manage Yuan Gui Yang, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last week, VLCC Yuan Hua Hu exited the strait with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil and headed for eastern China's Zhoushan Port.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)