KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): The five tanker vessels from the Middle East said to have diverted their route on their way to Malaysia were not carrying oil for the country, sources told The Edge.
The vessels “are not ours”, according to the shipping sources. The Iranian-linked tankers were heading from the Gulf of Oman to Malaysia, but changed course as the US Navy sought to intercept Iranian oil shipments, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Malaysian government has reportedly secured passage for seven tankers, including those chartered by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS), through the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz, with one having arrived and another expected to reach the country by the end of the week.
Chartering of vessels and change of ownership of crude shipments are possible as countries scramble for crude oil and petroleum products, following the closure of the strait at the height of the US-Iran conflict. This has affected about one-fifth of the global oil supply, mostly to Asia, including the Southeast Asian region.
The shortage has driven some countries to tap into their strategic reserves, with others reducing consumption through measures like remote working. The Malaysian government has said that existing fuel supplies are sufficient until end-May, while PETRONAS said it has enough for its fuel stations nationwide until the end of June.
The situation, nonetheless, threatens to turn into a widespread supply issue if the war prolongs. Countries and companies are securing supply to ensure they have feedstock for refineries to produce end-products that are used in everything ranging from petrol to plastic packaging.
The first of seven vessels to arrive, the PETRONAS-charted Ocean Thunder, carried around one million barrels of crude oil. This can produce up to 64 million litres of diesel — about two days of Malaysia’s daily consumption — and 48 million litres of petrol, which can be used up in one day, according to 2025 data from Wood Mackenzie cited by PETRONAS.