At least 12 major energy tankers, including three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying six million barrels of crude, have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz in the hours since President Trump signed a deal with Iran to end the conflict, data showed on Thursday.

The three Saudi supertankers — the Awtad, the Shaden, and the Jaham — are the first major Saudi vessels to test the route through the crucial chokepoint since the Iran war began on Feb 28, according to Reuters analysis of shipping movements.

Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal at Yanbu to ship oil due to the conflict, which has disrupted the shipment of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Gulf producers’ ports through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal of Yanbu to ship out oil due to the conflict which started on Feb. 28 and which has disrupted hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from leaving from Gulf producer ports through Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal at Yanbu to ship oil due to the conflict that started on Feb. 28 and has disrupted hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from leaving Gulf producers’ ports through the Strait of Hormuz.

The ships broadcast their positions as they sailed through the strait, after weeks of switching off their transponders to conceal their passages through the crucial chokepoint.

In a further sign of oil traffic returning to pre-war norms, three separate crude tankers were loading oil around the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah outside the strait, with two already heading to Europe with cargoes, ship tracking data showed Thursday.

Fujairah was among the terminals hit by Iran during the war.

One Iranian product tanker, the Viraj, was spotted transiting outbound toward the UAE, carrying roughly 27,500 barrels of petroleum products, reported Turkish outlet Anadolu Ajansi.

In addition, two Qatari LNG tankers passed through the strait, with one empty vessel, the Al Hamla, transiting inbound to reload, while the Mraikh transited outbound loaded with liquefied natural gas heading toward Pakistan.

Several Chinese bulk carriers and smaller cargo ships were currently holding or moving near the Hormuz route as of Thursday.

It comes after the US and Iran released the text of their interim agreement signed by President Trump and his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday to end the war.

However, Trump has threatened to resume the conflict and target Iranian officials if they fail to hold up their end of the deal.

The US will allow Iran to begin immediately selling oil and fuel under the deal, a senior US official said on Tuesday.

Oil industry figures have sought clarity on the safety of getting through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran laid sea mines during the conflict.

INTERTANKO, which represents the world’s independent tanker owners, said that clarity is needed on safety of navigation with mine clearance to start “at the earliest point,” adding that mine danger areas needed to be published.

“Ships should be assured that they will no longer be subject to attack,” it said. “Some ships will, of course, start to move. That will be natural,” INTERTANKO managing director Tim Wilkins added.

The oil industry is also seeking clarity “around sanctions, terrorism legislation and toll payments,” said Sheila Cameron, CEO of the Lloyd’s Market Association.

“The road to recovery in the Gulf will be a long and complicated one,” said Cameron, whose group represents the interests of all underwriting businesses in the Lloyd’s of London insurance market.

“It will take months for some sort of normality to return to international shipping with vessels in the wrong place and supply chains distorted,” she added.

With Post wires