The crude oil tanker Odessa, carrying UAE crude after passing through the Strait of Hormuz with its Automatic Identification System transponder turned off, navigates the waters at Daesan port, where it is expected to discharge crude oil, in Seosan, South Korea, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
By Weilun Soon
May 20, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A South Korean-flagged supertanker appears to be attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which, if successful, would be the first crossing of such a vessel from the East Asian nation.
The Universal Winner, laden with Kuwaiti crude, began signaling Wednesday morning that it was in the waterway, just south of Iran’s Larak Island that sits along a Tehran-approved route for Hormuz transits, ship-tracking data show.
The very large crude carrier is owned by Seoul-based HMM Co. and is signaling Ulsan in South Korea as its destination. A bulk carrier owned by the company was attacked in the strait earlier this month. HMM didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Universal Winner follows two Chinese supertankers traveling along a similar route that were also attempting crossings of Hormuz on Wednesday, though it remains to be seen whether they have successfully exited the strait.
The Ocean Lily, which is carrying crude from Qatar and Iraq and signaling the Chinese port of Quanzhou as its destination, stopped broadcasting its location early on Wednesday. The Yuan Gui Yang, carrying Iraqi oil and signaling Shuidong in southern China as its destination, has been idling in the same spot for several hours.
If the three supertankers succeed in exiting Hormuz safely in the next few hours, they would add to the rise in crude flows seen in recent days through the corridor and mark one of the biggest days of supertanker traffic since the Middle East war began at the end of February.
Hong Kong-flagged Ocean Lily is owned by Able Best Development Ltd., which shares the same Shanghai address and contact details as the ship’s manager, Sinochem Shipping Co. Hainan, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned energy conglomerate Sinochem Corporation. Yuan Gui Yang is owned and managed by Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, a unit of Beijing-backed Cosco Shipping.
Sinochem Shipping Co. Hainan and Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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