On the first full day of the blockade on Iranian ports imposed by the US regime, at least three vessels, including two US-sanctioned tankers, entered the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to shipping data. These vessels were not heading to Iranian ports and thus were unaffected by the blockade.
The Panama-flagged tanker Peace Gulf is en route to Hamriyah port in the United Arab Emirates. Kpler data indicates this vessel typically transports Iranian naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, to other Middle Eastern ports for export to Asia. Earlier, two US-sanctioned tankers passed through the narrow waterway, which handles a fifth of global energy exports. The handy tanker Murlikishan is heading to Iraq to load fuel oil on Thursday, having previously carried Russian and Iranian oil.
Another sanctioned tanker, Rich Starry, became the first to transit the strait and exit the Gulf since the blockade began on Monday. The tanker and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, were sanctioned by the US for dealings with Iran. Rich Starry is a medium-range tanker carrying approximately 250,000 barrels of methanol, loaded at its last port of call, Hamriyah, with a Chinese crew on board.
US President Donald Trump announced the blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday following failed weekend peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Prior to this, Iran had brought traffic through the strait—a critical route for global energy shipments—to a near-total halt in response to US-Israeli attacks on its territory since February 28.
Iran’s de facto control over this chokepoint sent gasoline and gas prices soaring worldwide. Washington now purportedly aims to strip Tehran of control over the strait, complicating transit for Iranian tankers that continue to pass daily. Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, reporting from Kuwait City, stated, “This complicates everything for commercial vessels that have been stranded in the Gulf. They now have to get permission from Iran to pass through, as well as the US.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that the US “increased military operations and took a targeted blockade action, which will only exacerbate tensions and undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement.” He called the US move “dangerous and irresponsible behaviour” that “further jeopardises safety of passage through the strait.”
China sources over half of its oil from the Middle East, particularly Iran. Kpler data shows China purchased more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil last year. Diplomatic prospects are not entirely dead, as Trump allegedly stated there is still room for a deal with Iran, and a Pakistani official told Al Jazeera the country is ready to host peace talks for as many rounds as needed.
Source: www.aljazeera.com