The US Navy prevents an Iraqi oil tanker from sailing for “unknown” reasons.
The US Navy prevents an Iraqi oil tanker from sailing for “unknown” reasons.
2026-05-12
Shafaq News – Follow-up
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that US forces imposing a naval blockade on Iran prevented a Greek ship carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi oil from continuing its journey to Vietnam for “unknown” reasons, while the Vietnamese government appealed to the United States to allow the oil shipment to proceed.
The US agency reported that Vietnam’s state-owned oil company urged the United States to allow the giant oil tanker “Agios Phanorios 1” to cross the US naval blockade out of the Gulf because it desperately needed the oil shipment for the Nghi Son refinery and the Vietnamese economy.
According to Bloomberg, the giant oil tanker Agios Phanourios 1, operated by Athens-based Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, made a sudden turn at sea on Monday near the point where the US blockade begins.
The tanker had passed through the Strait of Hormuz carrying 1.99 million barrels of Iraqi Basra Medium crude when it turned back, according to ship-tracking data and documents seen by Bloomberg.
PetroVietnam Oil, the trading arm of the state-owned energy company, confirmed to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command that the cargo aboard the Agios Phanourios 1 belonged to them and was loaded in Iraq, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg.
The tanker still indicates that its destination is Nghe Son, home to one of the refineries in the Asian country.
The letter, which Bloomberg reviewed, stated that “this shipment is of great importance to the Nghi Son refinery, to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and to the Vietnamese people.”
She added: “Any further delay threatens to shut down the refinery, with subsequent repercussions for millions of consumers, businesses, public services and industrial sectors in Vietnam.”
The reason why “Agios Phanourios 1” did not complete its journey remains unclear, although the US embargo targets shipments linked to Iran, not shipments coming from Iraq.
Tanker tracking data and documents reviewed by Bloomberg also show that the tanker was loaded in Iraq. A person familiar with the country’s exports also confirmed that the tanker was loaded in Iraq.
shafaq.com
