More than 130mn barrels of oil have been loaded onto tankers stranded inside the Gulf following Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The risk of attacks from Iran has been too great for most shipping companies to attempt transiting the Strait, leading to a huge build-up of laden-tankers in the Gulf.
The risks to this strategy became very apparent on 11 March, when an Iranian drone boat set two tankers engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer offshore Iraq on fire. The Zefyros tanker was carrying condensate supplied by Basrah Gas Company (BGC) and was receiving a naphtha cargo from the Safesea Vishnu when the attack occurred. (CONTINUED - 602 WORDS)
