KARACHI: Pakistan has begun transporting crude oil through the Red Sea after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted shipments, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
A Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) vessel at Yanbu port is scheduled to depart for Karachi on Thursday carrying 73,000 tonnes of crude oil. Another PNSC ship, Shalamar, has loaded crude from Fujairah port and is also en route to Karachi.
Shipping sources noted that the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz has affected multiple vessels, with two PNSC ships currently stranded near Karachi and a charter port due to the ongoing conflict.
The disruption comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran has nearly halted transit through the narrow waterway, which handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. This bottleneck has driven oil prices to levels unseen since 2022.
The spike in international fuel prices prompted the Pakistani government to increase domestic petrol and diesel rates by Rs55 per litre, with petrol now at Rs321.17 per litre (up from Rs266.17) and diesel at Rs335.86 per litre (up from Rs280.86).
Meanwhile, Port Qasim recently received four petrol-laden ships. Around 37,000 tonnes have been offloaded, with another 50,000-tonne shipment in the process of transfer, according to officials.
This marks Pakistan’s first significant rerouting of crude imports via the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, to maintain energy supply amid the ongoing regional crisis.
