AIS (Automatic Identification System) and remote sensing data analysed by NDTV Datafy show that at least four large vessels carrying oil, LNG and general cargo have passed through the new route that avoids international waters and stays within Oman's territorial sea limits.
Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) - the Marshall Islands-flagged Habrut and Dhalkut - as well as the Panama-flagged Sohar LNG carrier entered Oman's territorial waters near the Emirati city of Ras Al Khaimah and turned off their position-emitting signal transponders near the Musandam Peninsula. On April 3, they were spotted 350 km off the coast of Muscat. NDTV reported.
Dhalkut and Habrut were laden with 20 lakh barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude, respectively, according to maritime analysis firm TankerTrackers. Sohar departed the UAE port of Al Hamriyah on March 21, but it was unclear if it was carrying any load. It's AIS status was listed as partially laden.
