PanStar Acro leaves for the Arctic as some Iraqi tankers pass Hormuz
The 2,800-container PanStar Acro left Busan on the evening of 22 August for the Arctic route. In the same period Tehran, after repeated requests from Baghdad, allowed some Iraqi oil tankers through Hormuz.
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PanStar Acro leaves Busan on the Arctic route
South Korea's Oceans Ministry said the 2,800-container PanStar Acro left Busan New Port on the evening of 22 August. The ministry presented the sailing as the country's first container ship on the Arctic route. With the Middle East war cutting Suez traffic, Seoul is testing the polar line. The ministry said the ship would call at Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning. The sailing follows China's Dubai Tower Arctic trial from Ningbo.[1]
The ministry puts the voyage at 45 days and 7,000 km shorter than Suez
The Oceans Ministry expects the voyage to take about 45 days and to run about 7,000 km shorter than the Suez line. Vice Oceans Minister Nam Jae-hon said the Arctic route is bound to become an alternative to Middle Eastern lanes. Environmental groups warn the route could speed up the melting of polar ice.[1]
Some Iraqi tankers receive permission through Hormuz
Iran's state agency IRNA reported that Tehran had allowed a number of ships carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait of Hormuz. The permission was one of Baghdad's main requests during the visit to Iraq this week by Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Iraqi President Nizar Amidi told the Baghdad Dialogue conference that passage had been eased in recent days; he said the question remained complicated and that Iraqi territory would not be used to launch attacks against any other state. Iraq has no tanker fleet of its own and depends on foreign vessels to move its exports. The country's output stood at about 4 million barrels a day before the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Traffic through the strait remains significantly below pre-war levels and ships continue to face attacks. Talks between Iran and Oman on reopening the strait have not reached a deal. The scope and duration of the permission, and which vessels it covers, were not tied to any published procedure; the Iranian account rests on IRNA.[2]
