TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A supertanker carrying enough crude oil to supply Taiwan for two weeks arrived Thursday after more than a month at sea, easing recent supply strains.
Formosa Plastics Marine Corp.’s crude tanker, the FPMC C Lord (君善輪), successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz in mid-April during a temporary pause in fighting in the US-Iran war, per Liberty Times. The vessel arrived at Yunlin County’s Mailiao Port in the afternoon, providing timely feedstock replenishment, per UDN.
The Liberian-flagged vessel is transporting 2 million barrels of Saudi Arabian crude oil, according to SET News. Based on Taiwan’s average daily consumption of 150,000 barrels, the shipment is expected to supply the country for about two weeks.
After more than a month of sailing, FPMC C Lord reached waters off Chiayi and Yunlin on Wednesday and traveled northward. Although the seas were rough the previous two days, conditions calmed Thursday morning, allowing the tanker to continue north as scheduled, according to UDN.
The vessel was originally expected to enter Mailiao Port around noon Wednesday, according to CNA. However, two other tankers, FPMC C Orient and FPMC C Noble, were still unloading cargo at the port.
As a result, FPMC C Lord circled offshore near Yunlin County’s Kouhu Township while waiting for the two ships to complete unloading and leave the harbor, UDN reported. Around noon Thursday, after FPMC C Orient finished unloading and departed, FPMC C Lord accelerated northward toward Mailiao Port from waters off Kouhu and entered the port at about 12:50 p.m.
Formosa Plastics said that although FPMC C Lord had entered the port area, it had not yet docked at a berth. The company said unloading operations are expected to begin Friday during high tide, when the tanker can be properly positioned.
Formosa Plastics continued to keep details about the tanker’s journey low-profile. Formosa Petrochemical President Lin Ko-yen (林克彥) told UDN that the company operates about seven crude oil tankers with the same capacity each month, and that FPMC C Lord was only one of them.
Lin added that other tankers are still operating in the Middle East. He said FPMC C Lord was comparatively fortunate because it happened to be near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz at the time, allowing it to leave before conditions worsened.
Lin told CNA the shipment would help ease tight raw material supplies. He added that the company has expanded sourcing beyond the Persian Gulf to include the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, West Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Lin said contingency measures were quickly implemented after the war began, including rerouting shipments and securing alternative supplies. Delays in cargo arrivals from late March to April pushed refinery utilization down to 43% that month.
With diversified sourcing taking effect, Lin said utilization is expected to rebound starting in May. Internal plans project rates exceeding 60% in May and rising to 80% in June, CNA reported.
With FPMC C Lord completing its oil transport mission, senior Formosa Plastics executives expressed relief. However, the company remained tight-lipped about how the tanker managed to pass through the blockade, saying only, “The important thing is that it returned safely,” UDN reported.
Lin also noted that the crew endured considerable hardship during the voyage. He said company representatives would board the vessel to express appreciation to the crew for their hard work and bravery once all arrangements are completed.
