PTT-chartered tanker among first through Hormuz after truce

A tanker chartered by Thailand’s PTT was among the first fully laden supertankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after the US-Iran ceasefire, in an early sign that oil movements through one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints may be starting to resume.

Shipping data showed the Serifos was one of three loaded very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, that exited the Gulf on Saturday (April 11), in what appeared to be the first such outbound crossings since the truce.

Thai-linked cargo among first to move

Reuters, citing London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Kpler data, reported that the Liberia-flagged Serifos is chartered by PTT and was carrying crude loaded from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in early March.

The vessel is expected to arrive at Malaysia’s Malacca port on April 21. The other two tankers in the first outbound group were the China-flagged Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai. Each of the three vessels can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.

Hormuz remains critical to global oil flows

The Strait of Hormuz handles about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, making any disruption there an immediate concern for world energy markets.

Tehran’s blockade of the strait during the conflict disrupted global supplies and sent oil prices sharply higher, while shipping traffic on April 9 was reporterdly still running at less than 10% of normal levels. Hundreds of tankers were still stuck in the Gulf even after the ceasefire, underlining how fragile the recovery remains.

Thai shipping has already felt the fallout

Thailand had already been drawn directly into the Hormuz disruption before the latest PTT-linked passage. On March 25, a Thai oil tanker owned by Bangchak safely crossed the strait after diplomatic coordination between Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Iran’s ambassador to Thailand.

An earlier report said another Thai vessel was also awaiting clearance at the time, while the wider conflict had pushed up transport costs in Thailand and contributed to longer queues at petrol stations.

The passage of the Serifos does not yet signal a full return to normal shipping, but it does offer one of the clearest Thailand-linked signs so far that crude movements through Hormuz are beginning to restart under the two-week ceasefire window.