Sinokoo Marine (English name: Sinokoo Group) was found to have effectively dominated crude oil transportation through the Strait of Hormuz last month, carrying 37% of the total crude oil that passed through the strait.

Bloomberg reported that, based on an analysis of vessel-tracking data from maritime intelligence firms Vortexa, Equasis, and Signal Ocean, tankers owned by Sinokoo Marine transported 105.6 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in September.

This accounts for 37% of the approximately 286.3 million barrels of crude oil that passed through the strait during the same month.

This volume exceeds the combined total (97.3 million barrels) of the second to fourth-largest carriers: Saudi National Shipping (Bahri), Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, and the shipping arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Bloomberg explained that this analysis was compiled based on the ownership of the oil tankers rather than the operators.

In this regard, British maritime trade publication Lloyd's List reported that based on the number of Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) transits in September, Sinokoo Marine accounted for 47% of the vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and that its share increased to over 50% during the first ten days of this month.

Lloyd's List added that seven Sinokoo Marine-owned tankers suffered damage from missile or drone attacks.

Sinokoo Marine tankers were primarily deployed for short-haul "shuttle" operations, loading crude oil inside the Persian Gulf, passing through the strait, and unloading at ship-to-ship transfer points in the Gulf of Oman.

Following Saudi Arabian and UAE crude, they recently also transported some Iraqi and Qatari crude.

Bloomberg noted that even as Gulf crude exports recover to near pre-war levels, Sinokoo Marine remains one of the most active shipowners in shuttle operations.

Thanks to acquiring a large-scale tanker fleet through second-hand vessel purchases and time-charter contracts right before the Iran war, Sinokoo Marine absorbed the tanker demand of oil-producing countries amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Previously, The Wall Street Journal reported last July that Sinokoo Marine Vice Chairman Jung Ga-hyun invested approximately $7 billion just before the war to build the world's largest VLCC fleet.

At the time, Sinokoo Marine was known to operate over 160 tankers, holding a global oil tanker market share of about 17%.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]