HOUSTON: A cargo of flagship US light sweet crude loaded in Texas ​was headed to Israel on Friday, the first shipment to the country in nearly three years, ship tracking data showed.

Here are the details:

Malta-flagged Aframax vessel Captain John loaded ‌US West Texas ‌Intermediate crude at ​Enbridge’s ‌Ingleside facility ⁠near ​Corpus Christi ⁠in Texas on Thursday, and was signaling Israel’s southern port of Ashkelon as its destination, ship tracking data on LSEG showed.

The vessel was shipping ⁠about 550,000 barrels of ‌crude, according to ‌LSEG data. An ​Aframax tanker ‌can carry up to 750,000 barrels.

The tanker was chartered by trading house Vitol, the LSEG data showed. Vitol did not immediately respond ‌to a request for comment.

The last time US crude ⁠headed ⁠to Israel was in October 2023, Kpler data showed. The shipment comes amid the US-Israel war on Iran which began on February 28 and has sharply reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway previously carried about a fifth of ​global crude oil ​and natural gas supplies.