Shipping data revealed on Tuesday that a US-sanctioned Chinese tanker was able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite Washington's blockade.
Data from LSEG, MarineTraffic, and Kpler revealed that the medium-range Rich Starry tanker would be the first to pass through the strait and exit the Gulf since the US blockade on the vital chokepoint, Al Mayadeen reported.
According to the data, Rich Starry is carrying roughly 250,000 barrels of methanol on board, which it loaded in the UAE's Hamriyah port.
The tanker and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, were sanctioned by the US for conducting business with Iran.
Data shows that maritime activity in the Strait of Hormuz has declined to minimal levels as concerns over the US naval blockade increase.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that another Chinese vessel, the Elpis, carrying Iranian oil that was stopped in the Gulf of Oman for about six hours. Now it’s not clear if that’s on orders from the US, but we’re going to have to wait and see, in the coming hours, what happened to it.
bd-pratidin/GR
