A Chinese-owned tanker under US sanctions has transited the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first known passage through the strategic waterway since the current blockade took hold.
The oil-chemical carrier Rich Starry is owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping, a firm included on the US sanctions list.
Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the vessel crossing the strait early on Tuesday after circling near the chokepoint late on Monday. The tanker had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and is now en route to China.
US CENTCOM said on Sunday that a blockade will be "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations" entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Shortly after, US President Donald Trump said that any Iranian ships that come close to the blockade of "will be immediately eliminated.”
False signals to break the blockade
In a separate development, a tanker that left Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal was detected in the strait on Monday while broadcasting misleading Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, falsely signalling that it originated from Saudi Arabia.
Such tactics are becoming increasingly common. Since the start of the conflict, multiple vessels have attempted to obscure their movements by falsifying tracking data or switching off their AIS transponders altogether.
