South Korea Halts Iranian Crude Oil Imports in September Amid US Blockade

Preliminary data released by South Korea’s Customs Service on Wednesday showed that the country imported no Iranian crude oil in September, as reports indicated that US restrictions had effectively halted Iran’s seaborne oil exports.

According to energy intelligence platform Vortexa, Iranian crude oil shipments by sea fell to zero during the second week of September. Meanwhile, the volume of Iranian crude held aboard tankers declined to 83 million barrels, including 43 million barrels stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz.

Vortexa’s Head of Marine Risk, Claire Youngman, said the blockade had effectively prevented Iranian crude shipments from leaving the Gulf. She also noted that liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports fell by 48% compared with the previous month, reaching their lowest level since at least January 2023.

Despite the absence of Iranian crude imports, South Korea’s total crude oil imports increased to 10.8 million tonnes in September, up from 10.6 million tonnes in the same month last