A cargo of US WTI Midland crude is heading to Greece’s Motor Oil refinery in Corinth for the first time in about four years, according to ship-tracking data from Kple.
This comes as the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting regional supply and trade flows.
The Isle of Man-flagged tanker Eagle Helsinki loaded about 700,000 barrels of WTI Midland, the flagship US light sweet crude, at the Seabrook Logistics terminal in Houston.
Data from maritime analytics platform Signal Ocean showed it is now anchored at Agioi Theodoroi, near Motor Oil’s refinery in Corinth.
The Corinth refinery is Greece’s second largest and accounts for more than a third of the country’s refining capacity.
Ship-tracking data shows the Eagle Helsinki initially signaled Rotterdam as its destination before changing course mid-Atlantic to head towards Gibraltar and then Greece.
According to Signal Ocean, the refinery typically relies heavily on Iraqi crude from Basrah.
Motor Oil declined to comment.
Source: Kathimerini