Jakarta. Indonesia admitted Friday that securing a passage through the Strait of Hormuz is not easy, as two of its oil tankers still can’t exit the Persian Gulf.

Iran — a country now at war with Israel and the US — has an upper hand in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian territorial waters extend into the strait, allowing it to effectively close the vital oil transit point to retaliate against the February attack. This strait is the only way out of the Persian Gulf, where two tankers belonging to state oil giant Pertamina have been trapped for almost a month. 

Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters that negotiations were still ongoing to let the Pertamina tankers pass through the waterway.

“We are still in constant communication. I admit it is not easy to get our tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz. But we are always building communications,” Bahlil said in Jakarta.

Bahlil did not go into details on with whom Indonesia had been in talks. However, the Foreign Ministry previously said that Jakarta had pursued talks with the Iranian side.

The ministry has not responded to the Jakarta Globe's request for comment on the negotiations as of writing.

The company’s marine logistics arm Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) confirmed that the two tankers were still stuck in the Persian Gulf as of March 27. PIS acting corporate secretary Vega Pita told the Globe that the crewmembers were “all safe”.

PIS had deployed the VLCC Pertamina Pride — one of the trapped tankers — to secure light crude oil for the domestic market. Gamsunoro, the second vessel, was serving a third-party cargo.

As oil shipments slow to a crawl, Bahlil has repeatedly stated that Jakarta will seek new sources of crude, including the US.

“The Middle East only makes up 20% of our crude imports. We have found other crude sources outside the Middle East. Please don’t ask where they come from. If God is willing, we have it all [the supplies],” Bahlil said.

Fellow ASEAN member Malaysia has recently secured Iran’s green light for its oil tankers to pass the maritime route. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will meet President Prabowo Subianto soon to discuss the Iran conflict. The leaders are also expected to talk about diplomatic efforts to ensure the continuity of key supply chains, according to the Malaysian government, alluding to the energy crunch.

On Feb. 28, the US teamed up with Israel to launch surprise airstrikes on Tehran, killing the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran had retaliated by firing missiles at Israel and the US military bases in the Gulf states.

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