CYBERJAYA, April 17 — Five Malaysia-bound oil tankers remain in the Strait of Hormuz amid a new US-imposed blockade that is disrupting global oil flows, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
He said only two vessels have managed to pass through the area, with one already in Malaysian waters while another had docked at Pengerang refinery, in Johor.
“Even though the remaining ships were permitted to leave, the new development [complicates] the situation a little, but we are monitoring,” he told reporters after Friday prayers here.
“We do have Iran’s greenlight… but because of the new situation, we are facing a little complication,” he added.
Last week, Reuters reported that Petco, a unit of Malaysian state energy firm Petronas, was among seven Malaysia-linked vessels cleared by Iran to transit the strait, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The people declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
Anwar had said in March that Tehran would allow Malaysian vessels to pass through the strait after holding talks with Iranian officials.
The country’s foreign minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan later said there were seven ships linked to Malaysian companies — including Petronas, Vantris Energy and MISC — that were awaiting clearance to transit the waterway.
Iran effectively closed the strait, a corridor that carries about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows, in response to US and Israeli airstrikes that began in late February.
The federal government’s fuel subsidy bill has staggered to billions from just RM700 million in March, as the war and blockade pushes global crude prices up.
The Ministry of Finance said it expects April’s fuel subsidies to reach RM7 billion.
The US Navy has turned back 13 ships since its blockade of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman began more than 24 hours earlier, CNBC reported this morning citing Pentagon officials.
President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after complaining that Tehran has not appeared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of his conditions for agreeing to the fragile two-week ceasefire that is currently in effect.
