Photo : YONHAP News
A second oil tanker has arrived at an offshore oil loading terminal in Iraq’s southern Basra port on Friday since Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of a war with the United States and Israel in late February.
According to Reuters, the Comoros-flagged supertanker Helga entered the Basra terminal on Friday, local time, and the vessel is expected to load two million barrels of Iraqi crude oil.
On April 17, the Malta-flagged Agios Fanourios I tanker anchored off the Basra terminal, after which it loaded two million barrels of Iraqi crude.
On Wednesday, Iran mobilized a high-speed boat to seize two container ships on the key shipping route as the U.S. continues its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Hundreds of vessels and approximately 20-thousand sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf.