Tankers U-turn, zig-zag, pause around Strait of Hormuz

By Trixie Yap and Siyi Liu

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -At least two supertankers made U-turns at the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.

That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel.

Disruption is already evident, with tankers avoiding spending more time than needed in the strait, industry sources said.

Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels.

The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates.

The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq's Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources.

The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China's state-run Sinopec, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

Sinopec did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NO LINGERING

Shipowners will try to minimise time that vessels spend inside the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict, KY Lin, spokesperson at Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp.    "Vessels will only enter the region when it is nearer to their loading time," he said on Monday.

Japanese shipping firms Nippon Yusen and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said on Monday they continue to transit the strait but have instructed their vessels to minimise time spent in the Gulf.

Several oil traders and analysts told Reuters that they had been warned to expect possible shipping delays as vessels wait for their turn outside the area.

Iran's parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the strait, Iran's Press TV reported, but any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in the past but has never done so.

(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Trixie Yap in Singapore; editing by Tony Munroe and Jason Neely)