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A Very Lucky tale: How Korea-bound oil tankers braved Strait of Hormuz at the peak of Iranian tension

Published: 06 Mar. 2026, 17:07

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Two Korea-bound ships, Eagle Vellore, left, and Very Lucky, narrowly escaped the U.S.-Iran conflict at the Strait of Hormuz and are scheduled to arrive at Korea's Daesan Port in South Chungcheong in mid-March. [MARINE TRAFFIC]

Two Korea-bound crude oil tankers slipped through the Strait of Hormuz in the nick of time, just hours before the vital shipping corridor was effectively shut down amid the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The vessels, the Eagle Vellore and Very Lucky, are now sailing toward Daesan Port in South Chungcheong, one of Korea’s main oil import terminals, carrying a combined 4 million barrels of crude oil, enough to cover roughly two days of consumption.

Their escape was anything but ordinary in the current situation, as dozens of Korean commercial ships remain caught in the turmoil.

As tensions between the United States and Iran escalated into open conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint, quickly turned into a maritime danger zone. Forty Korean-operated ships are now unable to return home, stranded in the Persian Gulf or waiting outside the strait.

Yet these two tankers, chartered by HD Hyundai Oilbank and made by Korea's Hanwha Ocean and China's Dalian Shipbuilding, managed to slip through just in time.

Although headed to the same destination, the two ships took very different paths to safety.

The Eagle Vellore departed Al Basrah Port in Iraq on Feb. 26. Roughly 48 hours later, as the tanker approached the narrowest stretch of the Strait of Hormuz, the crew received radio warnings from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declaring the channel closed.

Instead of anchoring, the ship bolted, thanks to a split-second decision by the captain.

The massive tanker accelerated through the chokepoint, racing against time. Within about five hours, the ship successfully cleared the strait and entered the Gulf of Oman. By that evening, IRGC drone activity, missile strikes and mine-laying operations had effectively shut down the passage.

The second vessel, Very Lucky, lived up to its name.

The tanker departed Al Khafji Port in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 22 and reached the strait on the night of Feb. 27. At that moment, tensions between the U.S. and Iran were escalating, but the strait had not been blocked.

The ship quietly passed through in the early hours of Feb. 28, exiting the strait even before the Eagle Vellore began its own high-risk maneuver.

Both tankers are very large crude carriers capable of transporting roughly 300,000 tons.

If all goes according to schedule, the Very Lucky will arrive at Daesan Port on the morning of March 17, followed by the Eagle Vellore on the afternoon of March 20.

For Korea, one of the world’s largest energy importers, the two vessels’ cargoes are precious lifelines as most ships, for now, remain trapped by the conflict.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]