Jakarta. The Indonesian government doesn’t mind Iranian oil tankers traversing its waters amid the US blockade, saying these ships are only exercising their right of passage.

Tracker Tankertankers.com revealed over the weekend that an Iranian supertanker carrying crude, valued at almost $220 million, had entered the Lombok Strait. The vessel reportedly belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). Another Iranian tanker named DERYA was seen doing the same on Monday, and was en route to its rendezvous point in the Riau archipelago. Derya had failed to deliver 1.88 million barrels of crude to India in mid-April. The US Navy is also redirecting its sister ships in the area back to Iran.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang said that Jakarta had received the reports, while adding that the UNCLOS -- the decades-old international maritime law -- allows foreign ships to pass through the strait. 

“Navigation rules in all waters, including Indonesia’s, are subject to the 1982 UNCLOS, which respects all forms of passage in each maritime zone,” Yvonne said. 

The government is now conducting field verification and internal coordination. 

“We believe that these vessels are exercising their right of passage in accordance with international law,” Yvonne stated. 

Indonesia will keep an eye on the situation and “communicate through appropriate diplomatic channels”.

The freedom of navigation continues to grab the headlines since Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as payback for US-Israeli airstrikes in late February. A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of the strategic waterway after his country and Tehran failed to reach a deal on ending the war. 

The global benchmark oil price Brent hovered around $114 per barrel on Tuesday. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a quarter of global oil flows, hence any disruption to its traffic leads to major price hikes.

Add as a preferred source on Google +