Despite the U.S. blockade: a Chinese tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz
14 April 15:18
The Chinese tanker Rich Starry, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, April 14, despite the U.S. Navy’s blockade of the key waterway, Reuters reports, citing shipping data from MarineTraffic and Kpler, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Apparently, this is the first vessel to have managed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and leave the Persian Gulf since the blockade began.
The Rich Starry is a medium-sized tanker carrying approximately 250,000 barrels of methanol. It was loaded at the port of Hamriyah in the UAE. The ship’s owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, as well as the tanker itself, are included on the U.S. sanctions list for commercial ties with Iran. According to LSEG data, a Chinese crew is on board the Chinese tanker.
Another tanker on the U.S. sanctions list—the Murlikishan—sailed toward the Gulf on Tuesday, LSEG data showed. According to Kpler, an empty Handysize tanker, formerly known as MKA and previously involved in transporting Russian and Iranian oil, is scheduled to load fuel oil in Iraq on April 16.
The U.S. military began a blockade of Iran’s ports and entire coastline at 5:00 p.m. Kyiv time on Monday, April 13, while Tehran threatened to strike the ports of neighboring Persian Gulf countries if its ships were seized.
Following the breakdown of talks between the two warring parties, which took place in Islamabad over the weekend, a U.S. representative said that dialogue is continuing and progress is being made in finding a consensus. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said that contacts are continuing.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the delegation in Islamabad, told Fox News on Monday that the American side had made significant progress in these talks, showing Tehran where the United States might be willing to make some concessions and where it would remain unyielding.
According to Vance,Trump firmly demanded that all enriched uranium be removed from Iran and that a verification system be established to confirm that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons.
The U.S. Vice President noted that Tehran had made a small concession toward Washington, but it was not enough.
