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Bloomberg
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A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, in what appear to be the first such transits since the war in Iran shuttered the crucial waterway.
The CMA CGM Kribi container ship exited the strait on Friday, ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and two people familiar with the situation showed.
That was the first ship linked to Western Europe known to have made it through since the war began more than a month ago. Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines confirmed that the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker it part-owns also crossed — another first.
A container ship operated by the French CMA CGM shipping company sails to the port of Marseille on June 29, 2018.
Photo: AFP
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has practically halted since the US and Israel attacked Iran, with just a trickle of ships able to make the crossing. Those have mostly been vessels associated with nations friendly to Tehran, with a system emerging whereby Iran pre-approves transit along a route hugging close to its coast.
The French and Japanese ships appear to mark a shift, although it is not clear whether this is the result of government diplomacy or ad hoc negotiations by companies and their intermediaries.
France and Japan called for a ceasefire earlier this week, and French President Emmanuel Macron has been vocal about the need to get the strait reopened, but saying that can only happen once the bombing stops.
As part of the Iranian system that has been emerging in recent weeks, some vessels have had to pay transit fees to Tehran, Bloomberg has reported.
A spokesman for Mitsui OSK declined to comment on whether the Sohar LNG tanker paid a fee. CMA CGM SA, the owner of the French ship, also declined to comment.
Until now, most vessels crossing the strait have been friendly to Iran, with some countries such as Pakistan negotiating bilateral deals for safe transit. Most have been seen taking a route that hugs the Iranian coast, although another path has emerged — along the Omani coastline. The LNG ship took that route, along with two oil supertankers.
Meanwhile, Iran is taking steps to cement its grip on the strait long term, moving to establish a system of tolls for a waterway that is crucial for the world’s supply of oil and gas. That is alarming Gulf Arab states, which rely on the waterway for their exports, and would raise hurdles for consumers, too. Iran has indicated it could manage a new system with Oman, although Muscat has yet to make its views clear.
A second Turkish ship also left the strait in recent days, the Turkish government said on Friday.
Tracking ships entering and exiting Hormuz is not an exact science and has been complicated by the intense signal jamming in the area, as well as spoofing of signals.
The data show the CMA CGM Kribi, with a Maltese flag, sailed from waters off Dubai toward Iran on Thursday afternoon local time, signaling that its owner was French, ship tracking data showed. It stuck close to the Iranian coast, moving through a channel between the islands of Qeshm and Larak, openly broadcasting its journey. On Friday, it signaled it was off Muscat.
The CMA CGM Kribi could carry about 5,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, and draft readings show it is sitting low in the water, indicating that it is filled with cargo.
The Sohar LNG tanker, which appears not to be loaded with cargo, is in waters near Muscat after changing its destination to the Qalhat LNG export terminal in Oman, data showed. The vessel has been signaling that it is an Omani ship.
