Three tankers, including one co-owned by a Japanese company, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday by hugging close to Oman’s shore, a rare transit route as Iran maintains a chokehold on the key war-torn passageway.
Before the war which started more than a month ago, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait, but that has dwindled to a trickle as Iran selectively attacks ships and energy facilities throughout the Gulf in retaliation against US and Israeli attacks.
The near closing of the international artery has led to fuel shortages and soaring energy prices across the globe.
Thursday’s passage of the three was notable because they sailed close to the Omani Musandam Peninsula to the south of the waterway on Thursday, maritime traffic data showed Friday.
The few vessels that have crossed the chokepoint since the start of the Middle East war have passed using an Iranian-approved route through its waters near Larak Island, dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth” by leading shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
No other ships have been tracked “not taking the Iranian corridor” while crossing the strait “in nearly three weeks”, according to Lloyd’s List.
Two laden very large crude carrier (VLCC) — the Habrut and the Dhalkut — and one empty LNG tanker crossed the strait on Thursday morning, according to maritime data provider Kpler, all signalling they were an “OMANI SHIP” in the message broadcast by their transponder as they crossed the strait.
The Sohar LNG is the first LNG tanker to have crossed the strait since March 1, when Iranian attacks against ships near the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for US-Israel strikes, reduced crossings to a near stop.
The Sohar LNG vessel is jointly owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K, according to Japanese media reports quoting a company statement on Friday.
This makes it the first Japanese vessel to have exited the Gulf since the start of the war, according to the reports.
The tanker was empty when it passed the chokepoint on Thursday and had been in the Gulf since February 25.
All three ships appear to have followed a route just off the Omani coastline, and are currently stopped west of Muscat, Oman, according to their signals.
Commodities carriers have made 240 crossings since March 1, according to Kpler data as of Friday morning — a 94 percent decrease on peacetime.
Of these, 151 were oil tankers and gas carriers, and most were travelling east out of the strait.
Earlier Thursday, a French-owned container ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according Marine Traffic data analysed by AFP Friday, the first known transit by a major European shipping group since March 1
Iran said Thursday it was drafting a peacetime protocol that would supervise maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, state media reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Russia’s Sputnik state media that the protocol would apply after the ongoing war with the United States and Israel had ended, setting basic rules to manage ship movements, the IRNA news agency said.
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