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The passage comes two weeks after a Thailand-flagged bulk carrier was hit and damaged by Iranian projectiles while transiting the Strait.A Thai oil tanker has safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz following diplomatic coordination between Thailand and Iran, two weeks after a projectile hit another Thai-flagged vessel during its passage through the Strait.
The Thai energy firm Bangchak Corporation Plc confirmed that one of its crude oil tankers, which had been anchored in the Persian Gulf since March 11, safely transited the strategic waterway on March 23.“
The tanker is currently on its way across the Indian Ocean and is expected to deliver crude oil to Thailand in early April,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday evening, the Bangkok Post reported.
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told the media that the passage followed talks with Iran’s ambassador to Thailand. I requested that if Thai ships need to pass through the strait, could they assist in ensuring safe passage?” Sihasak said late Tuesday. They responded that they would take care of it and asked us to provide the names of the vessels that would be transiting.
Another Thai vessel, owned by SCG Chemicals, is also awaiting clearance to transit the strait, Sihasak added.
Bangchak expressed its appreciation to the Foreign Ministry and the governments of Iran and Oman, “in facilitating the vessel’s passage in accordance with international law.” The Iranian Embassy in Thailand also issued a statement saying that the passage was the result of “close cooperation between our two countries and the Sultanate of Oman.” According to Foreign Ministry sources cited by Reuters, the Thai embassy in Muscat “also worked with Omani authorities, coordinating alongside Iran via its embassy in Bangkok.
The safe transit for the Thai tanker comes two weeks after the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was attacked by Iranian projectiles in the strait, causing a fire onboard and forcing the crew to evacuate. Twenty of the 23 crew on board were evacuated to Oman, but three remain unaccounted for. Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson Panidone Pachimsawat said yesterday that the government is awaiting confirmation of the status of the three remaining crew members and would inform the public as soon as it has any information about their fate.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later admitted responsibility for attacking two vessels, including the Mayuree Naree, claiming that they had ignored the warnings of the IRGC naval forces.”
The Thai Foreign Ministry subsequently summoned Nassereddin Heidari, Iran’s ambassador in Bangkok, “to seek clarification” over the incident, and expressed grave concern over the intensifying crisis in the Middle East.
Reuters reported that the Bangchak tanker was not required to pay a fee to transit the Strait, despite some reports that Iran is requesting payment in exchange for the passage of certain ships.
The passage of the vessel offers a measure of relief to Thailand, which like many of its neighbors, has seen sharp spikes in fuel prices due to the war in Iran. The Thai Enquirer reported that fuel prices shot up by up to 20 percent this morning, after the government opted to lower a fuel subsidy, and there have been reports of long lines at Thai petrol stations. The spiking prices are already spreading into other areas of the Thai economy, including transport, industry, tourism, and the agriculture sector, heaping pressure on the new government led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Thailand currently imports around 50 percent of its crude oil from the Gulf. Its net oil imports are also equivalent to 4.7 percent of GDP, the highest share in the region. According to an analysis published last week by the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, Thailand is among those Asian nations that are most vulnerable to the oil supply shock, in that they “have meaningful exposure to prolonged disruption in Gulf energy flows with limited fiscal space to absorb the shock.
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