Blacklisted ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz

TT

Updated 08.53 | Published 08.22

            

             

           Ships in the Strait of Hormuz, photographed at an earlier stage in the war, on March 23.
           1 / 2Photo: AP/TT

Tankers subject to sanctions have passed through the Strait of Hormuz after the US announced it would establish a blockade.

There is still uncertainty about how the blockade works in practice, beyond President Trump's threat of deadly attacks.

The almost 190-meter-long tanker Rich Starry was off Dubai before it began approaching the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, various international media reports.

The US had announced that the naval blockade would apply from 4 p.m. Swedish time. The Rich Starry was then circling the Iranian island of Qeshm right next to the strait – and just before midnight it took off and began its passage.

The ship is said to have been loaded with methanol in an Emirati port. It is sailing under a Malawian flag of convenience, but both the ship and its Chinese owner are under US sanctions due to links to Iran.

Stop outside?

A couple of hours later during the night, another tanker sailed through the strait in the opposite direction. It came from China and is also reported to be subject to sanctions after carrying Iranian and Russian cargo. It arrived on the coast of Iran on Tuesday morning.

When the US deadline expired and the blockade was to begin, another tanker was on its way out of the strait, and the passage apparently took place without any intervention. That ship is also under US sanctions as it has been carrying Iranian oil.

The ships that have sailed out of the Persian Gulf through the strait have stopped in the Gulf of Oman. It is not clear whether they have been prevented from sailing further. It is also not clear whether they have had to settle with Iran, which claims to demand customs fees.

Several ships have previously identified themselves as Chinese, or pretended to be, in order to pass unharmed during the war.

Threatened to eliminate

It was on Sunday that US President Donald Trump issued an order that sea traffic would be blocked in the Strait of Hormuz. When the US military later specified the operation, it was announced that all sea traffic to and from Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman would be stopped.

If Iran's ports are not allowed to be left alone, no other state's ports in the Persian Gulf will be allowed to be left alone either, the Iranian military responded on state television. During the war, Iran has launched many counterattacks against energy targets in the countries on the other side of the Gulf.

At least 15 US warships are in place in the region to enforce the blockade, according to the Wall Street Journal. Donald Trump claims that the US military has “wiped out” Iran’s navy, but admits that the country still has many fast patrol boats.

“Warning: If any of these vessels even come close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated,” he wrote in a post.