US Blockade Fails to Stop Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz

A Chinese oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 14 despite a U.S. blockade of the key shipping route.

Reuters reports that the vessel Rich Starry was the first ship to make it through the strait and leave the Persian Gulf since the blockade began.

Both the tanker and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, are under U.S. sanctions for cooperating with Iran.

Rich Starry is a mid-sized tanker carrying about 250,000 barrels of methanol.

The cargo was loaded at the port of Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates, the vessel’s last port of call.

It is also noted that the tanker is Chinese-owned, and its crew consists of Chinese nationals.

Another sanctioned tanker, Murlikishan, entered the strait on April 14. The vessel is expected to load fuel oil in Iraq on April 16.

The tanker had previously been used to transport Russian and Iranian oil.

Talks between the United States and Iran began on Saturday, April 11, in Islamabad, but the sides quickly ran into serious disagreements – particularly over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran insisted on tightening control over the strait and did not rule out restricting ship traffic. Officials in Tehran also said such measures could be a response to recent Israeli strikes in the region.

The United States, for its part, supports maintaining freedom of navigation and unimpeded passage through the strait. Washington considers any attempts to restrict maritime traffic unacceptable.

On April 9, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began allowing vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz only for a fee and within range of its own strike capabilities.

In response, on April 12, Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to begin a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key energy routes, and to detain vessels that pay transit fees to Iran.