Iran’s supreme leader says his country’s seizure of two Greek oil tankers in Persian Gulf waters was a direct response to the US and Greece’s “robbery” of Iranian crude.
Greek authorities, in coordination with US counterparts, sized an Iranian-flagged tanker on May 25.
This poses a new risk for transporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz. This is known as the Global oil flashpoint. In 2020, 12m bpd passed through, making it a clear supplier – as countries such as Saudi Arabia use it. It is also the case that 27% of the Global Oil Fleet is greek owned.
This poses a new risk for the 27% of fleets, that need to now adapt to this situation, as well as for others. In a time of commodity shortages, with the western governments negotiating with previously heavily sanctioned countries, this is not the direction leaders want. France demanded Iran release the Greek tankers. The EU recently set a partial ban in motion, with the failure of a full ban of crude oil occurring due to strong dependency.
Biden is still wishful for an Iran deal that would involve alleviating some sanctions in exchange for a deal on oil.
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