South Korean tanker giant Sinokor is the world's dominant VLCC owner (Very Large Crude Carrier) and has in recent weeks found itself front and center in the crosshairs of Iranian retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz and regional waters.
This past week, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) has put the major South Korean maritime shipping and logistics group on notice, saying Sinokor will suffer sweeping action against its fleet starting November 1st if it keeps violating Tehran's protocol for shipping through the strait.
This has marked the first time the Islamic Republic issued a blanket warning covering a shipowner's entire fleet, but this is perhaps because Sinokor alone accounted for about 37% of Hormuz oil transits in September and more than 50% of VLCC traffic in the first 10 days of October, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
Source: SinokorDespite regional passage being fraught with obvious ultra high risks, Sinokor has risen to dominance in the Gulf's shipping market, moving to capitalize on extraordinary freight rates.
However, this has come at a steep physical cost, with at least seven Sinokor-linked tankers having been attacked and struck by Iranian missiles or drones recently and durin
