SINGAPORE, April 14 - A Chinese-owned tanker listed on U.S. sanction rolls passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and exited the Gulf, according to data compiled by LSEG, MarineTraffic and Kpler. The vessel, named Rich Starry, would be the first ship to make such a transit and leave the Gulf since a U.S. blockade was put in place, the tracking data indicated.
The Rich Starry and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, were placed under U.S. sanctions for dealings with Iran, the tracking services' data show. The shipping company could not be reached immediately for comment.
Shipping datasets describe the Rich Starry as a medium-range tanker carrying roughly 250,000 barrels of methanol. The cargo was loaded at the vessel's previous port of call, Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates, according to the same information.
Data sources also report that the vessel is Chinese-owned and has a Chinese crew on board. These operational details were recorded in the movements and registry information available through the trackers.
Separately, the trackers showed another U.S.-sanctioned vessel, the Murlikishan, moving into the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. LSEG data recorded the Murlikishan's transit into the chokepoint, while Kpler's information indicates the empty handysize tanker is scheduled to load fuel oil in Iraq on April 16.
The Murlikishan, formerly sailing under the name MKA, has a history of transporting Russian and Iranian oil, according to the movement records cited by the data providers. The current voyage plan reflected in the datasets points to a forthcoming fuel oil loading in Iraq.
The movements captured by LSEG, MarineTraffic and Kpler highlight instances in which vessels under U.S. sanctions continue to operate through key maritime routes. Reported details on cargo type, port of loading and planned future operations were limited to the tracking data sets; attempts to obtain comment from the owner of the Rich Starry did not yield an immediate response.
Contextual note: The reporting above is based on consolidated shipping data and registry records furnished by the named tracking services. No additional commentary or claims beyond the recorded vessel movements and cargo details were included.