Iran warns of "legal action" against Janggeum Merchant Marine for sailing through Strait of Hormuz

Iran recently warned of "legal action" against Janggeum Merchant Marine (English name Sinoco Group), a Korean shipping company known to have transported the largest amount of crude oil in the Strait of Hormuz.

On the 27th (local time), the Persian Gulf Straits Authority (PGSA), established by Iran to manage passage through the Strait of Hormuz, said on revealed.

However, PGSA did not explain specifically what measures it would take.

PGSA has been disclosing a list of vessels that it claims have violated Iran's strait passage regulations, and said those vessels will face restrictions, including fines, detention or confiscation, when passing through the strait in the future.

After announcing 45 ships subject to sanctions for the first time on August 24, 77 ships were added to the list last month, and a total of 122 ships were added to the list this month.

Vessels belonging to Janggeum Merchant Marine have been included in the list since the first announcement in August.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg News analyzing ship tracking data from shipping information companies such as Vortexa, Equisys, and Signal Ocean, oil tankers owned by Janggeum Merchant Marine transported 105.6 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz last month.

This corresponds to 37% of the total crude oil that passed through the Strait of Hormuz last month, approximately 286.3 million barrels. It was higher than the combined shipping volume (97.3 million barrels) of Saudi National Shipping (Bahri), Kuwait Oil Tanker, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which ranked 2nd to 4th.

Lloyd's List, a British shipping media outlet, also reported that Janggeum Merchant Marine accounted for 47% of the ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz based on the number of Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) passages last month, and by the 10th of this month, the proportion increased to more than 50%.

Lloyd's List added that during this process, seven oil tankers owned by Janggeum Merchant Marine suffered damage, such as being attacked by missiles or drones.

Janggeum Merchant Marine secured a large oil tanker fleet through the purchase of used ships and regular charter contracts just before the Iran War, and is known to mainly use oil tankers for short-distance 'shuttle' operations that load crude oil from inside the Persian Gulf, pass through the strait, and unload at a ship-to-ship transfer point in the Gulf of Oman.