Vietnam’s state oil company urges the U.S. Navy to allow an oil tanker carrying Iraqi crude to pass through a U.S.-run naval blockade in the Middle East, according to a letter cited by multiple reports. The company’s trading arm, PVOIL, tells the U.S. that the cargo is needed to supply a Vietnamese refinery with critical oil. The request is described as related to the U.S. expanding its shipping restrictions on Iran, including cargoes it deems contraband, while stating that other oil shipments are permitted to transit.
One report identifies the vessel as the very large crude carrier Agios Fanourios I, loaded with about 1.99 million barrels of Iraq’s Basrah Medium crude. The tanker is reported to have changed course with a mid-ocean turn on Monday around the area where the U.S. blockade begins, after recently clearing the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg also reports that Vietnam’s state oil company characterizes the shipment as important to Vietnam’s economy, framing the appeal as an effort to enable timely delivery of crude oil to support refinery operations.
