Greek-operated tanker Karolos crosses Hormuz amid severe shipping

A Greek‑operated suezmax tanker named Karolos slipped through the Strait of Hormuz on May 14, heading for the Indian port of Sikka with a full load of crude oil [1]. The vessel, flagged in Liberia and managed by Dynacom, took on its cargo at Basra on May 10 and was confirmed at maximum draft by satellite data, indicating it was fully loaded before the crossing [1].

The passage comes as the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran has effectively shut the waterway, stranding hundreds of ships and choking a route that once carried about 20 % of global energy supplies [1]. Only a handful of crude carriers have managed to navigate the strait this week; a Panama‑flagged tanker run by Japan’s Eneos also made the transit, according to LSEG tracking [1]. SynMax data showed that in the 24 hours before Karolos’s move, nine vessels entered the Gulf of Oman—mostly small cargo or dry‑bulk ships bound for Iran—while about ten ships passed through the strait on the preceding Thursday [1].

The scarcity of crossings has left more than 20,000 seafarers trapped inside the Hormuz corridor, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation, raising concerns over crew welfare and the broader impact on oil logistics [1]. Iran’s state TV claimed 30 ships crossed the strait on Thursday, a figure that conflicts with independent tracking data, underscoring the fog of information surrounding the crisis [1]. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure mounts: U.S. President Donald Trump warned his patience with Iran was wearing thin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly agreed in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the waterway [1].

Karolos’s successful transit underscores the precarious balance between limited oil flow and the risk of further closures. If the strait remains largely blocked, even a single vessel’s cargo—up to a million barrels—becomes a significant lever on global supply, potentially stoking price volatility. The next move of the remaining trapped tankers and any shift in Iranian policy will determine whether the current bottleneck eases or deepens.