Shipping records show that since Thursday several vessels with ties to Oman, France and Japan successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel that links the Gulf to the Arabian Sea and carries a significant portion of world oil and LNG shipments.
MarineTraffic and LSEG vessel-tracking data indicate three very large crude carriers and one LNG tanker operated by Oman Shipping Management exited the Gulf on Thursday. In addition, a container vessel owned by French shipping firm CMA CGM transited the Strait the same day, and Japan-linked LNG carrier Sohar LNG was reported by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to have made the passage.
Iran initially closed the Strait after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in late February that helped widen the conflict in the region. Later, Iranian authorities stated they would permit passage for ships they determined had no U.S. or Israeli links. Oil and commodities markets have been closely watching vessel movements for signs that traffic through the waterway is returning to any degree of normalcy.
Several vessels have previously escaped the blockade, but those movements were often followed by periods of near-total paralysis in traffic. The recent transits add to the mixed pattern of sporadic openings and shutdowns that market participants and logistical planners have been tracking.
The CMA CGM container ship changed its Automatic Identification System - AIS - destination field to "Owner France" before entering Iranian territorial waters, a move that underlined the vessel's nationality to Iranian authorities. Tracking data suggest some ships switched off their AIS transponders during the crossing, as signals disappeared from public vessel-tracking feeds while transiting the Strait.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said on Friday that the Sohar LNG, a vessel it co-owns, had crossed the Strait. Mitsui described Sohar LNG as the first vessel linked to Japan to make the passage and the first LNG carrier to transit the route since the conflict began. A company spokesperson declined to specify the timing of the passage or whether any negotiations with Iranian authorities were needed to secure transit.
Japan's transport ministry reported that as of early Friday roughly 45 ships owned or operated by Japanese companies remained stranded in the region. Shipping data also showed another Mitsui-owned LPG tanker, Green Sanvi, leaving the Gulf earlier on Friday via Iran's territorial waters. The India-flagged ship signalled its destination as "India ship India crew." Separately, Panama-flagged Danisa, a very large gas carrier, departed the Gulf bound for China, according to the tracking records.
Oman, which facilitated talks between Iran and the United States before the strikes, has publicly criticised the launching of strikes while negotiations were in progress. The vessels associated with Oman that moved out of the Gulf on Thursday were operated by Oman Shipping Management, per the shipping data.
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