(Bloomberg) — Three vessels — two cargo ships and a fuel tanker — appeared to have crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday as U.S. and Iranian blockades remained in place.
The Shoja 2, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, has passed through the strait and moved into the Gulf of Oman and is now in the waters off Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, ship tracking data shows. The ship’s progress is being watched closely after the US Navy seized another Iranian cargo ship on Sunday, the first seizure since Washington imposed a blockade on the waterway last week.
The other two vessels have no clear connection to Iran. The Lian Star, a Gambian-flagged general cargo ship, has crossed the strait and is now sailing southeast along Iran’s coast in the Gulf of Oman. The Ean Spir, a medium-range tanker formerly named Blue Commander and with no identified owner, began sailing northeast from waters near Ras Al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates and is now heading south into the Gulf of Oman, with Shinas in Oman as its destination.
Otherwise, traffic through the vital waterway remained virtually at a standstill after a chaotic weekend when Iran declared the corridor open before closing it again after the US refused to lift the blockade. Around 800 vessels remain stranded in the Persian Gulf.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US blockade would remain in place for now. The US leader said the two-week truce with Iran, which expires Wednesday night in Washington, is unlikely to be extended. The talks between the two countries are expected to take place in Pakistan.
Traffic across the strait has been uncertain since the ceasefire came into effect. At least three Mediterranean Shipping Co. container ships. and the cruise ship MSC, along with a handful of other passenger ships, appeared to have left the Persian Gulf and hugged the coast of Oman on Saturday.
Two Iran-bound liquefied petroleum gas carriers and two oil product tankers — including one with Iranian ties — passed through the strait in both directions on Monday.
Lian Star is listed as owned and operated by Mashini S, a Dubai-based company in the Equasis database. No contact information has been provided for this entity. The Ean Spir does not appear on any country’s sanctions list, while the Equasis lists its flag as unknown – a common tactic among Dark Fleet tankers.
(Updated to include the latest positions of the three vessels in the first three paragraphs.)
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