(Bloomberg) — Three tankers — the first to attempt passage through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. announced the blockade — have successfully cleared the waterway. After sailing near the coast of Iran, the trio have now surfaced in open waters.
Meanwhile, the blockade appears to be deterring others, with at least two ships abandoning their planned routes.
Among the successful transits, the New Future, which has no clear connection to Iran, and the US-sanctioned Aurora began moving northeast from waters off the United Arab Emirates early Monday, ship tracking data showed. The medium-range tankers appear to have taken a route south of Iran’s Larak island, a passage that Tehran has said in recent days that vessels attempting an eastern transit should follow.
New Future has sailed through a bend in the strait and is now off the coast of the port of Sohar in Oman. Aurora is near the exit of the Gulf of Oman waterway.
At the same time, a Vietnamese-owned liquefied petroleum gas carrier approached the strait in the opposite direction to enter the Persian Gulf. The NV Sunshine began sailing north from the waters off Sohar in the Gulf of Oman late Sunday and is now inside the gulf, signaling that it is heading to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The transit comes just hours before the US imposed a blockade on areas around the Strait of Hormuz after talks between Tehran and Washington broke down over the weekend. The restrictions – which apply to all vessels entering or leaving Iran’s ports or coastal areas and which began at 10 a.m. New York time on Monday – follow the Islamic Republic’s tightening of control over the vital waterway since the start of the war, which has caused a slump in maritime traffic.
Later on Monday, pressure from the impending US naval blockade appeared to disrupt commercial shipping. The US-sanctioned tanker Rich Starry appeared to turn back during an outbound transit near Iran’s Qeshm Island, while the China-bound bulk carrier Guan Yuan Fu Xing turned around suddenly on its inbound voyage on the opposite side of the waterway.
Ship transit is closely watched as the U.S. and Iran vie for control of the chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s oil once flowed. The vessels have been targeted or attacked by Tehran in recent weeks because of their links to or ownership of Western countries. Trump’s latest move aims to challenge the Islamic Republic’s control of the strait and deprive it of energy revenues.
The New Future is carrying more than 330,000 barrels of gas oil, which was loaded at Hamriyah, a port in the United Arab Emirates, in early April. The vessel entered the Gulf shortly before the war began in late February.
The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel is owned and managed by Hong Kong Chuanglang Shipping, according to maritime database Equasis. A call to Chuanglang’s listed phone number could not be made, and the operator said he had not paid his phone bills. The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Panamanian-flagged Aurora signals that it has an Indian crew on board, which has become a commonly seen tactic used by vessels passing through Hormuz to show their affiliation. The ship was sanctioned by the United States in December for its links to Iran’s oil trade. Bloomberg News could not immediately verify where the tanker loaded its cargo. The ship has been in the bay since December.
It is owned by Aurora Shipowners Ltd., which is based in Mumbai and shares the same address as its manager, Golden Gate Ship Management. No contact information was provided for any company.
Vietnam recently said it was working with Iranian authorities to ensure the safe passage of its vessels through Hormuz. NV Sunshine is owned and operated by Nhat Viet Transportation Corp., Equasis shows. The Ho Chi Minh City-based company did not immediately respond to a call and email request for comment.
–With help from Dan Murtaugh.
(Updated throughout with the latest information on Hormuz transits.)
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