At least two sanctioned tankers are passing through the Strait of Hormuz via an alternative route, despite the announced blockade by the US.
This is reported by Reuters and Bloomberg, citing monitoring data from LSEG, MarineTraffic and Kpler.
One of them is the China-bound tanker Rich Starry. According to monitoring services, the tanker became the first ship to pass through the strait and exit the Persian Gulf since the blockade began.
The vessel and its owner are under US sanctions for cooperating with Iran. On board are about 250 000 barrels of methanol, loaded in the United Arab Emirates. The crew and management are Chinese.
According to Bloomberg, this is the second time in less than 24 hours that the Rich Starry has attempted to pass through the strait. After the blockade began, the ship first entered a narrow passage near Qeshm Island, but turned around, and then resumed its movement and headed out of the Persian Gulf.
Another tanker, the Elpis, entered the strait at the time the blockade began. Tracking platforms Kpler and Vortexa indicate that it may have entered an Iranian port before attempting passage.
The sanctioned tanker Murlikishan also entered the strait. It is an empty vessel, scheduled to load fuel oil in Iraq on April 16. It previously carried Russian and Iranian oil.
Ships are taking unusual routes through the strait. Alternative routes were recently announced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
They stated that due to hostilities, there may be sea mines in the usual shipping lanes. Therefore, ships are advised to temporarily change their routes: enter the strait from the Gulf of Oman towards Larak Island, and exit south of the island.
- The day before, the NYT, citing sources, wrote that Iran cannot fully open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping because it does not know the exact location of its own naval mines.
- Later, the US Central Command reported that its warships USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy had begun mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz.
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