Vietnam-Bound Supertanker Halted by US Navy Resumes Journey
Vietnam-Bound Supertanker Halted by US Navy Resumes JourneyA Vietnam-bound supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude, which idled for days in the Gulf of Oman after it was halted by US forces, has resumed its journey.The Agios Fanourios I was sailing away from waters off the Omani capital of Muscat late Saturday, after five days of waiting in the area, ship-tracking data show. By early Sunday, the fully laden very large crude carrier sailed past a boundary line where the US is enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian shipping.The VLCC sailed out from the Persian Gulf a week ago, moving past the Strait of Hormuz that’s blockaded by Iran, and attempted to move into the Arabian Sea. As it approached the US naval blockade line, the tanker turned back into the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data show. The US Central Command said at the time the vessel was turned away to enforce the blockade against Iran.The cargo’s buyer, PetroVietnam Oil Corp., which is the trading arm of the Southeast Asian country’s national energy company, last week sent a letter of appeal to the US for the tanker’s release.“This cargo is of extreme importance to Nghi Son Refinery, to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and to the Vietnamese people,” according to the letter seen by Bloomberg News. “Any further delay risks halting refinery throughput, with cascading consequences for millions of Vietnamese consumers, businesses, public services and industries.”The vessel’s transit comes after a two-day summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, where both agreed the strait should be open but made no apparent progress toward the goal. Traffic through the waterway remains far below pre-war levels despite a slight uptick in recent days, as several crude tankers exit the Persian Gulf.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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