The Malta-flagged oil tanker Odessa, carrying one million barrels of crude oil, arrived in South Korea after passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

It is the first such vessel to reach the Asian nation by that route since Iran declared the critical waterway closed.

South Korea relies heavily on Middle Eastern fuel imports, most of which transited through Hormuz until US-‘Israeli’ attacks on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to effectively shut the strait.