KARACHI: A Pakistani oil tanker bound for Karachi appeared to have successfully traversed the Strait of Hormuz and is sailing through the Gulf of Oman, ship‑tracking website MarineTraffic said on Monday, despite Iran’s closure of the strategic waterway amid the US‑Israeli war.
The passage comes as shipping through the key waterway has been disrupted by the escalating US–Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterattacks on US interests as well as commercial and oil infrastructure in the Gulf, disrupting global energy supplies and trade flows.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel between Iran and Oman linking the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and a quarter of seaborne liquefied natural gas exports.
The crude oil tanker “KARACHI,” sailing under the Pakistani flag, was located in the Gulf of Oman several hours earlier, according to MarineTraffic. The vessel with the call sign AQRX departed on Feb. 28 from Das Island in the Arabian Gulf and is en route to Karachi.
“Crude Oil Tanker KARACHI is currently located in the Oman Gulf,” MarineTraffic said on its website Monday evening. “KARACHI (IMO: 9903413) is a Crude Oil Tanker and is sailing under the flag of PAKISTAN.”
