South Korean Shipowner Sinokor Dominates Hormuz Transits as Oil Flows Rebound
A little-known South Korean shipowner dominated oil transits through the Strait of Hormuz in September, data from intelligence firms suggest, with the group’s vessels moving more barrels than the next three owners combined.
Oct 23, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A little-known South Korean shipowner dominated oil transits through the Strait of Hormuz in September, data from intelligence firms suggest, with the group’s vessels moving more barrels than the next three owners combined.
Ships owned by Sinokor Group carried 105.6 million barrels of crude through the waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with global markets, an analysis of ship-tracking and other data from intelligence firms Vortexa, Equasis and Signal Group showed. That’s equivalent to almost 40% of oil making the crossing last month.
The next three players — the National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia, also known as Bahri, the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s shipping unit — accounted for a combined 97.3 million barrels during the same period, according to Bloomberg calculations based on that data. The analysis considered ownership and not vessel operators.
Sinokor, owned by tycoon Ga-Hyun Chung, gained prominence from the early weeks of the Iran war, having amassed a huge tanker fleet in the run up to the conflict through purchases or time charters.
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