KARACHI: A Pakistan-flagged ship carrying crude oil will cross the Strait of Hormuz and reach Karachi port on Saturday after the United States began a blockade, the government announced here on Friday.
A senior official of Pakistan’s national shipping line said it was the first commercial ship allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz began following the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
“The ship carrying thousands of tons of crude oil is scheduled to dock at the Karachi port tomorrow,” PNSC official Shahzeb Akram said.
The Pakistani-flagged transport ship set out for the Strait of Hormuz last Sunday to deliver the cargo.
On Monday, two merchant ships of the PNSC, Shalimar and Khairpur, were the first Pakistani ships to enter the Persian Gulf since the outbreak of war between Iran, the United States and Israel.
Earlier on April 10, Pakistan’s first container ship MV Selen arrived at Karachi Port.
Weeks after the conflict in West Asia broke out, Iran and the United States agreed on April 8 to a conditional ceasefire that included the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically located waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles about 20% of the world’s energy supplies.
The strategic waterway is one of 10 key points in Iran’s bid to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz, which was on the agenda for the first direct U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad over the weekend.
Pakistan is playing the role of peacemaker and participated in the mediation process that led to a two-week ceasefire in the conflict.
Pakistan, like many other countries, has faced a fuel crisis since the conflict in West Asia began. Earlier this week, the government announced load reductions of two to three hours a day as part of energy-saving measures.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
