PORT DICKSON: Another PETRONAS tanker sailing from the Middle East is set to arrive in Malaysia in early August, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said he was informed of this by PETRONAS chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz on Thursday (July 23).
"I was informed that another PETRONAS ship will leave Yanbu in Saudi Arabia through the Red Sea.
"Approval was given to pass and it is expected to arrive in Melaka by early August.
"This reflects that we should be wise in our foreign policies," he said in his speech at a national patriotism programme at the Army Basic Training Centre (Pusasda) on Friday (July 24).
In April, one of the Malaysian-owned vessels travelling from the Strait of Hormuz, known as the Ocean Thunder, arrived at the Pengerang terminal carrying one million barrels of crude oil from Basrah, Iraq.
This came following the previous closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to developments in the Middle East.
Anwar added that Malaysia's relations with the United States, Gulf countries and Iran enabled it to engage in diplomatic issues that arise.
"It was through our good relations that I was able to contact the Iran president when a PETRONAS tanker was unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz when the conflict there broke out.
"After extending my sympathies, I requested if it was possible to release the tanker. Also, the PETRONAS tanker was among the first countries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
