First Known Passage of a European Shipping Group Ship through Strait of Hormuz
A CMA-CGM container ship off the coast of Marseille on June 29, 2019. ( AFP / BORIS HORVAT )
A container ship owned by the French shipping group CMA CGM passed through the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Gulf on Thursday, displaying the nationality of its owner, according to data from the MarineTraffic website as reported by AFP.
The Kribi, flying the Maltese flag, crossed the strait from west to east on Thursday afternoon and was located off Muscat on Friday morning, still broadcasting the message “owner France” instead of a destination. This appears to be the first known passage of a ship from a large European shipping group through this crucial route, practically paralyzed by the war in the Middle East.
The container ship passed north of Larak Island, close to the Iranian coast, following a maritime route seemingly approved by the Revolutionary Guards, who have implemented a system for registering “approved ships.”
Tehran’s Tollbooth
Ships using this route must pay a significant fee, with Larak being dubbed the “Tehran tollbooth” by maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Maritime data analyzed by AFP confirmed that the few commercial vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz recently passed near Larak.
During peacetime, about 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transit through this strait.
In early March, ships began displaying a link to China while sailing or anchoring in the Gulf region, seen by experts as a precaution to reduce the risk of being targeted by Iran. On Tuesday, Beijing announced that three Chinese boats had recently crossed the Strait of Hormuz and expressed “gratitude” to the parties involved.
The war broke out on February 28, when the United States and Israel started bombing Iran, which retaliated with strikes across the region and severely restricted access to the strait.
