This photo shows a South Korean oil carrier that arrived at a port in the southwestern city of Yeosu on Thursday. Photo by Yonhap
A South Korean vessel has successfully passed through the Red Sea and is currently en route home, marking the fourth oil shipment of its kind, the oceans ministry said Friday.
The arrival comes as Seoul has been scrambling to bring in oil through alternative routes amid the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
After loading oil shipments at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu Port, the ship passed through the Red Sea at around 11:00 a.m., the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said. Details of the vessel’s movement were withheld due to safety reasons.
The ship is the fourth Korean oil carrier to transit the waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean via and Suez Canal since the country began using the waterway to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
That water lane has effectively been blocked by Iran for over a month.
The first Korean ship to take the alternate route since the war began arrived at a port in the southwestern city of Yeosu on Thursday, carrying some 2 million barrels of oil, according to sources familiar with the matter. The ship had left the Red Sea last month.
Two more Korean oil carriers successfully passed through the Red Sea earlier this week.
The ministry said it will continue efforts to stabilize oil shipments to the country and take steps to ensure the safety of Korean vessels and crew members navigating through the region.
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