First Iranian Tanker Sets Sail for Asia With 2 Mln Barrels of Oil

The fully laden Iranian crude oil tanker Starla, operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), has departed from the Persian Gulf for Singapore, according to Reuters.

"This is the first tanker to come off floating storage," the agency quoted a tanker tracking source as saying. "One of the scenarios is it could do an STS operation [ship-to-ship transfer of oil between two vessels, usually at sea], although nothing is known at the moment.”

ThomsonReuters Eikon shipping data has apparently showed the vessel sailing through the Gulf of Oman with a Singapore destination.

It still remains unclear whether the estimated 2 million-barrel cargo had been sold, and if so, whether the deal occurred after this week's agreement.

Iran has been storing millions of barrels of oil on supertankers for months. Ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows that the vessel has signaled it will arrive in Singapore on July 28.

Singapore doesn't have a waiver to accept Iranian oil.

The supertanker is operated by Iran's leading tanker company NITC. The vessel has been used for floating storage since December 12, 2014.
Iran has been storing excess oil on supertankers in the Persian Gulf for the last 2.5 years, as more vigorous restrictions on its oil sales have deterred potential buyers.

The Starla is among 24 tankers storing Iranian oil. Bloomberg reports that the amount of Iranian oil stored on tankers now stands at about 51 million barrels, which could flood the oil market.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said last month that the country was aiming to add 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to production within two months of Western sanctions being eased, and as much as 1 million bpd in six to seven months.