Chinese Supertanker Sails Out Of Hormuz In Rare Exit

原始链接: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chinese-supertanker-sails-out-hormuz-rare-exit

一艘名为“远华湖”号的中国超级油轮被追踪到满载伊拉克石油驶离霍尔木兹海峡，这是当前冲突爆发以来该航线仅有的第三次此类通行。该船由中远海运集团（COSCO）所有，并由联合石化（Unipec）租用，航行中明确广播其中国身份以确保安全通过。此次进展正值特朗普总统前往北京与习近平主席进行关键会谈之际。尽管中国高度依赖中东能源进口，但此前一直难以说服德黑兰停止在该地区的敌对行动。尽管德黑兰过去拒绝听从北京的压力，但此次通行仍凸显了霍尔木兹海峡持续的紧张局势。虽然特朗普总统表示不需要中国在伊朗问题上进行干预，但他打算就此问题与习近平主席进行深入探讨。鉴于中国拥有庞大的能源储备且作为顶级能源进口国，确保石油通过这一咽喉要道的安全性，仍将是即将举行的美中外交谈判中一个至关重要却又微妙的议题。

原文

As president Trump was on his way to China, a Chinese tanker appears to have exited the Strait of Hormuz as it sails toward an area where the US has enforced a blockade, ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping, Bloomberg reported today, citing ship-tracking data showing the VLCC moving south along the eastern side of the chokepoint.

The supertanker which sailed past Iran’s Larak island, and into the Gulf of Oman, is Yuan Hua Hu, owned by Cosco, and would be only the third tanker carrying oil for China from the Persian Gulf that has traversed Hormuz since the start of the war. The vessel is broadcasting its Chinese origin and crew, Bloomberg said, as other vessels have done previously to secure safe passage.

Yuan Hua Hu’s draft indicates it’s fully loaded with oil, or close to the vessel’s 2 million barrel capacity. It was seen lifting from Iraq’s Basrah terminal in early March, according to ship-tracking data. The vessel was chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese state refining giant Sinopec, according to a fixture seen by Bloomberg.

In April, two very large Chinese crude carriers were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s toll system that demands payment of $2 million per supertanker to pass. One of those was the same Yuan Hua Hu that is currently moving along the strait.

China imports the bulk of its energy from the Middle East, and while it has amassed substantial crude oil stockpiles that are helping it weather the worst of the crisis - anecdotally over 1.4 billion barrels - restoring normal flows from the Persian Gulf is important for one of the world’s top energy importers.

Earlier in the war, reports emerged that Beijing had pressured Iranian officials to stop attacking vessels carrying crude oil and LNG via Hormuz. Judging from later events that involved Iranian strikes on vessels in the chokepoint, Tehran did not yield to the pressure.

The moment is delicate for relations between the United States, China, and Iran as President Trump heads to Beijing for talks with President Xi on topics that are bound to include traffic via the Strait of Hormuz. According to media reports, President Trump plans to have “a long talk” with President Xi about Iran, even as he told news agencies he did not need China’s help in resolving differences with Iran.