South Korea's Sinokor Shipping Emerges as
Dominant Player in Strait of Hormuz Oil Trade; Owns 14% of Global Supertanker Fleet
South Korea’s Sinokor
controls about half the tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz,
benefiting from a big bet just before the war in Iran started.
·
Sinokor, a
relatively little-known South Korean shipping company, has emerged as a
dominant force in transporting crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz amid the
Iran war.
·
According to Lloyd's List Intelligence, Sinokor has accounted for approximately 50% of tanker
transits through the Strait since early September 2026.
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The company is led by Chairman Chung Tae-soon
and his son Chung Ga-hyun.
1.
Massive Expansion of Supertanker Fleet
·
Sinokor has
increased its fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each capable of
carrying approximately 2 million barrels of oil.
·
Its fleet has expanded from 42 VLCCs in December
2025 to 129 currently.
·
Veson Nautical
estimates that Sinokor spent $5.6 billion
acquiring 70 tankers since the beginning of 2026.
·
The company now controls approximately 14% of
the world's 940 operational supertankers.
·
Its nearest competitor, China's China Merchants
Group, controls approximately 5%.
2.
Strategic Expansion Before Iran War
·
Sinokor began an
aggressive tanker acquisition programme during the two months preceding the
US-Israel attacks on Iran at the end of February 2026.
·
Its timely acquisitions have enabled it to
capitalise on increased demand for tanker capacity and disrupted shipping
routes.
·
Analysts say the company has gained considerable
influence over global tanker availability and freight rates.
3. US
Military Protection Facilitates Oil Shipments
·
Since May 2026, the US military has operated an
extensive mission to protect vessels against Iranian missile and drone attacks.
·
Sinokor, along
with shipping companies controlled by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, has
resumed operations through the Strait.
·
Many Sinokor shipments
involve ship-to-ship transfers:
o
Tankers transport crude through the Strait of
Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.
o
Oil is transferred to other tankers for onward
transportation, mainly to Asian importing countries.
·
Some Sinokor vessels also
sail directly to Asia.
4. Tanker
Freight Rates Surge
·
Concentration of tanker capacity among fewer
companies is contributing to higher shipping costs.
·
Charter rates for tankers undertaking the 15-day
journey between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have exceeded $1 million
per day, compared with approximately $120,000 per day last year.
·
The share of the global supertanker
market controlled by the three largest owners has increased:
o
Last year: 16%
o
Currently: 27%
·
Analysts believe Sinokor's
growing market share could give it significant influence over future
freight-rate determination.
5. Risks
to Global Oil Supply Continue
·
Despite increased tanker movements, crude oil
prices remain substantially above pre-war levels.
·
Continuing demand and fears of renewed US-Israel
attacks on Iran, followed by possible Iranian retaliation against Gulf energy
infrastructure, are keeping oil markets under pressure.
·
Analysts expect tanker freight rates to remain
elevated even if hostilities cease, owing to permanently higher security risks.
6.
Attacks on Tankers and Seafarer Safety
·
More than 35 ships were attacked in October 2026,
the highest monthly number since the war began.
·
At least seven Sinokor
vessels have been attacked since July, including three during October.
·
An attack in July injured 11 sailors.
·
Iran-created Persian Gulf Strait Authority has
alleged that Sinokor vessels recorded the highest
number of passage violations in recent months.
·
India's Forward Seamen's Union has raised concerns
that shipowners are prioritising profits over seafarer safety.
·
Some shipping companies are offering higher wages
to sailors willing to transit the Strait, but seafarer representatives say the
payments do not adequately compensate for the risks.
Significance: Sinokor's rapid expansion has made it a major player in
global crude oil transportation, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.
Concentration of tanker capacity, soaring freight rates and continuing security
threats could have lasting implications for international oil trade, shipping
costs and energy supply chains, particularly for Asian oil-importing countries.
Oil
shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have rebounded in the past few months, as
tankers have braved constant Iranian attacks to get their cargo out of the Persian
Gulf.
The
recovery rests largely on the efforts of an enigmatic South Korean shipping company.
That
company, Sinokor, has accounted for about a half of the
tanker transits through the strait since the beginning of September, according to
Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a maritime analysis firm.
“They’ve
played a huge role in getting oil out of Hormuz, no doubt,” said Tomer Raanan, a
senior maritime intelligence analyst at Lloyd’s List.
But
concentrating so much oil in the hands of one tanker company could be adding to
the cost of shipments out of the Middle East and across the world — rates that have
already been pushed higher by the greater risk the war has forced on much of the
global oil trade.
In
an exceptionally well-timed bet, Sinokor, led by a father
and son who are little known even in South Korea, began a buying spree in the two
months before the United States and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.
It is now, by some counts, the largest operator of supertankers
in the world.
While
many tankers are tied up shuttling oil through the strait, creating shortages elsewhere,
Sinokor’s growth has given it outsize power, said Kristoffer
Barth Skeie, an equity analyst specializing in tanker companies for Arctic Securities.
“They
have succeeded in cornering the market,” he said.
Sinokor owns 129 very large crude carriers — the
industry name for tankers capable of carrying two million barrels of oil — up from
42 in December, according to BRS Shipbrokers.
Sinokor’s chairman, Chung Tae-soon, and his son, Chung
Ga-hyun, have kept a low profile in South Korea. His father’s
only public role seems to be as the head of the South Korean association that oversees
Baduk, the board game also known as Go.
Founded
in 1989, Sinokor operated the first container liner service
between South Korea and China — a joint venture between South Korean and Chinese
entities that started three years before the two nations established diplomatic
ties. Chung Tae-soon eventually took full control of the company, according to South
Korean media reports.
Employees
of Sinokor declined to take calls from a reporter seeking
comment from the company.
Sinokor’s dominance of Strait of Hormuz traffic was
in part made possible by the U.S. military, which since May has run an extensive
operation to shield vessels from Iranian drone and missile attacks. The operation
was aimed at neutralizing Iran’s threat to shipping and encouraging tanker operators
to come back to the strait.
Many
shipping companies have stayed away, but Sinokor and shipping
companies controlled by the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait have returned in earnest.
Many
of the journeys that Sinokor is making through the strait
are known as ship-to-ship transfers. They work like this: Tankers carry oil through
the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, and then transfer it to tankers that travel
to the importing countries, mostly in Asia. Some Sinokor
ships also sail directly to Asia, according to several analysts.
Despite
the great efforts to get crude out, the price of oil remains far higher than before
the war. That’s in part because demand for oil remains strong, and because of fears
that the United States and Israel will again attack targets in Iran, which might
then target Persian Gulf energy facilities.
Even
if hostilities cease, companies that own and operate tankers will continue to charge
more to get oil out of the gulf, analysts say.
“It’s
never going to be back to its prewar days, when shipping through the strait was
cheap and easy and everybody did it,” said Rosemary Kelanic, a director at Defense Priorities, a research organization focused on foreign
affairs.
The
concentration of tankers in the hands of fewer players may have long-term implications
for freight rates. Last year, the top three supertanker
owners controlled 16 percent of the market, compared with 27 percent today, said
John Cotzias, a co-founder of Xclusiv Shipbrokers, a Greek
firm.
Veson Nautical, a maritime analysis firm, estimates
that Sinokor spent $5.6 billion buying 70 tankers since
the start of this year. Sinokor now owns 14 percent of
the roughly 940 supertankers in operation. The next-largest
owner and manager of very large crude carriers, China Merchants Group, controls
about 5 percent of the market.
All
along, shipping rates are rising. Tankers chartered for the 15-day run between the
Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman have surged past $1 million per day, up from about
$120,000 a day last year, Mr. Cotzias said.
“I’ve
never seen these kind of rates,” he added.
Max
Meizlish, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies, a research organization, said, “It seems very clear that this is
part of Sinokor’s strategy — that they want to be a major
player in setting freight rates.”
Meanwhile,
mariners on ships in the Strait of Hormuz are working in dangerous conditions. More
than 35 ships were attacked in October, more than in any other month of the war.
Iran has struck at least seven Sinokor ships since July,
including three in October, and 11 sailors were injured in an attack in July.
The
Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a regulatory agency that Iran created in May in an
attempt to establish authority over the strait, said last week that vessels belonging
to Sinokor had committed the highest number of passage
violations in recent months.
Manoj
Yadav, the head of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, said he believed that shipowners
had made maximizing profits a priority over ensuring the safety of sailors. Some
shipping companies are paying higher wages to those willing to pass through the
Strait of Hormuz, but that is not enough to cover the risks, he said.