Eyewiness | One French-owned container ship and another Japanese-owned vessel are among a handful of vessels to have crossed the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, maritime tracking data showed Friday (2026/4/03).
The passage, a vital maritime route for oil and liquified natural gas, has been virtually blocked by Iran since the start of the war.
But both ships made the crossing on Thursday, according to ship tracking company Marine Traffic’s website.
The Maltese-flagged Kribi belonging to the French maritime transport group CMA CGM crossed the waterway to leave the Gulf on Thursday afternoon, Marine Traffic’s data showed.
By early Friday, it was off Muscat, Oman, still broadcasting the message “owner France” on its transponder system in the field usually used to give the destination.
The vessel’s navigation data showed it had crossed via an Iranian-approved route through its waters, dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth” by leading shipping journal Lloyd’s List.
SOUTHERN ROUTE
In addition, three tankers – including one co-owned by a Japanese company – crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday by taking an alternative, southern route.
They hugged close to the shore of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula – a first in nearly three weeks according to Lloyd’s List.
Before the war, which started more than a month ago, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the Strait.
All three ships signalled they were an “OMANI SHIP” in the message broadcast by their transponder as they crossed the strait.
The Sohar LNG, which was empty when crossing, is co-owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK.
That makes it the first Japanese vessel to exit the Gulf since the start of the war, according to a company statement quoted by Japanese media.
The Hong-Kong flagged New Vision, which crossed the strait on Mar 1 right after the war started, is expected in the French port of Le Havre on Saturday evening.
Since the conflict started however, that has dwindled to a trickle as Iran selectively attacks ships and energy facilities throughout the Gulf in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks.
A few commercial ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz recently have passed through the Iranian-approved route in the north of the waterway.
