Seoul, Aug. 17 (SANA) A South Korean oil tanker is heading home with crude loaded at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port after transiting the Suez Canal, marking the first such shipment since the Strait of Hormuz was closed in late February, South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Monday.
The ministry said it provided round-the-clock monitoring as the vessel sailed through the Red Sea, along with navigational safety information and a direct communication channel linking the ministry, the shipping company and the vessel, Yonhap news agency reported.
“We will continue to make every effort to ensure stable crude oil supplies,” the ministry said.
The voyage is the 16th shipment of crude oil to South Korea via the Red Sea, which has been used as an alternative route since the start of the U.S.-Israeli-Iranian war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The previous 15 tankers loaded crude at Yanbu and sailed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The latest vessel instead transited the Suez Canal, making it the first crude shipment to South Korea via the canal since the Hormuz closure.
T.S /ABD
