Mercuria Energy Group Moves Oil Through Strait of Hormuz Amid War
Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. has successfully moved oil through the Strait of Hormuz by leveraging government-brokered deals, according to legal filings that shed light on how commodity traders are navigating the closely watched waterway during the Iran war.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer Marco Dunand revealed in April that Mercuria had managed to move ships out of the Persian Gulf. “There’s various ways to do it and I’d rather not comment on that,” he said, adding that more ships were transiting the strait than were shown by tracking data.
Government-Brokered Deals Facilitate Oil Transit
In a legal filing dated May 21, lawyers for Mercuria offered further insight into Hormuz transit, which has moved into the shadows since the war began. “Mercuria’s present understanding is that there were approximately 20-24 recorded VLCC transits of the Strait by non-Iranian ships from 1 March 2026 to 19 May 2026,” they wrote, referring to very large crude carriers.
Over the same period, shiptracking data compiled by Bloomberg show 14 laden, non-Iranian VLCCs exiting the Persian Gulf. Transits were either made with illegal toll payments or “have been limited, pre-cleared movements arranged on a government-to-government non-commercial basis (including two non-Mercuria managed ships with government ties, carrying Mercuria cargo),” the Mercuria lawyers said.
Mercuria’s Arguments in Court
Mercuria has sued the Baltic Exchange in London over the world’s main oil tanker rate, which is based on the cost of hiring a giant supertanker from inside the Persian Gulf. The company initially argued that transiting Hormuz was impossible without paying an illegal toll, and therefore that the exchange should have stopped publishing the so-called TD3C index or calculated it based on other similar routes.
However, Mercuria‘s lawyers concede that some vessels have transited Hormuz without paying a toll to Iran. They argue that these government-brokered deals do not qualify as fixtures on which TDC3 could be based as it is “intended to measure fixtures for lawful VLCC transits on commercial terms.”
Court May Ultimately Decide Strait’s Closure
It’s possible that a court in London may ultimately have to decide exactly how closed the Strait of Hormuz is. Mercuria has argued that the artificially high rate of the TD3C index is causing it “hundreds of millions” of dollars in losses, and that the exchange should take into account these government-brokered deals when calculating the index.
The dispute highlights the challenges faced by commodity traders as they navigate the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war. As tensions continue to escalate, the fate of global oil supplies hangs in the balance.
Original Article: Mercuria Lawyers Say Government Deals Got Oil Through Hormuz | Financial Post — Financialpost