Oil tanker chartered by CPC expected to arrive in Taiwan in July - Taipei Times

Staff writer, with CNA

The Dubai Energy, an oil tanker chartered by oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, is expected to arrive in Taiwan in mid-July after exiting the Strait of Hormuz, the state-owned company confirmed yesterday.CPC’s confirmation came after a Reuters report said earlier in the day that the Dubai Energy, which had been stranded for over three months due to military conflict in the Middle East, left the Strait of Hormuz overnight and is bound for Kaohsiung.Citing ship-tracking data, the Reuters report said the Dubai Energy, one of two very large crude carriers (VLCC) stranded by the war in the Middle East, is carrying 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi and Saudi crude oil.

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, are pictured on Monday.

Another VLCC — the Universal Glory, chartered by South Korean refiner GS Caltex — also exited the strait, according to Reuters.CPC said the Dubai Energy completed the loading of 2 million barrels of crude oil before the US-Israel war against Iran broke out at the end of February and had previously planned to pass through the strait in early March.

However, the military conflict in the Middle East resulted in the blockade of the strait and the shipment was delayed.CPC said the 2 million barrels of crude oil will be assigned to its oil refinery plants in Dalin Refinery in Kaohsiung and Taoyuan Refinery based on market demand.More ships are transiting the strait with their satellite signals switched on, pointing to growing confidence among shipowners and traders about sending vessels through the world’s most important energy chokepoint.Seven tankers, including two fully-laden non-Iranian supertankers, were either in the strait or had already crossed yesterday, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. All of them were broadcasting their location, the data showed.The shift “reflects a degree of strengthening confidence among shipowners, as Iran is expected to refrain from targeting vessels,” Kpler Ltd senior oil analyst Muyu Xu (徐牧宇) said.Still, it remains to be seen whether safe and unrestricted passage will indeed materialize, Xu cautioned. Additional reporting by Bloomberg