Oil tanker reaches South Korea after passing Hormuz blockade

An oil tanker that passed through the Strait of Hormuz arrived in South Korea on Friday, the first such vessel to reach the Asian nation by that route since Iran declared the critical waterway closed.

South Korea relies heavily on Middle Eastern fuel imports, most of which transited through Hormuz until US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to effectively shut the strait.

The arrival of the Malta-flagged Odessa, carrying a million barrels of crude oil, will probably ease Seoul's concerns over energy security as the Iran war drags on.