About 30 vessels cross Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s approval amid standoff

Iran authorized about 30 vessels through the Strait of Hormuz since Wednesday, state television reported, even as the IRGC bars “hostile ships” from passage.shafaq
A Chinese supertanker, a Japanese tanker, and two India-bound LPG carriers were among ships crossing — some with transponders off — bringing large vessel exits since Sunday to nine.business-standard
The uptick comes as President Trump visits Beijing and U.S.-Iran negotiations remain stalled, with both sides maintaining competing naval restrictions.nation

Shipping Traffic Picks Up at Hormuz With 30 Vessels Authorized by Iran

Approximately 30 vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz with Tehran’s authorization since Wednesday, Iran’s state television reported on Thursday, marking a notable uptick in maritime traffic through the contested waterway even as negotiations to end the war remain stalled.shafaq

An official from the naval branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the broadcaster that Iran’s stance toward “hostile ships” remains unchanged and that such vessels would not be allowed passage. The IRGC continues to require all vessels to obtain approval before transiting the strait, a practice formalized in recent weeks through Tehran’s newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority.abc

Chinese and Japanese Vessels Push Through

Among the vessels making the crossing was the Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu, a very large crude carrier loaded with nearly two million barrels of Middle Eastern crude oil. The tanker passed near Iran’s Larak Island before entering the Gulf of Oman, according to ship-tracking data. Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that several Chinese vessels were permitted through under arrangements coordinated between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Beijing’s ambassador to Tehran, Cong Peiwu.youtube

The transit came as President Donald Trump visited Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and followed weeks of Chinese diplomatic pressure on Tehran to reopen the strait.nation

A second Japanese very large crude carrier, the Eneos Endeavor, also made a covert passage. The ship had been inside the Persian Gulf since late February loading crude from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, and emerged in the Gulf of Oman late Wednesday after going dark — ceasing to broadcast its location — for roughly two days.business-standard

India-Bound Carriers Cross With Transponders Off

Two LPG carriers bound for India, the Symi and NV Sunshine, also passed through the strait on Thursday with their transponders turned off, according to Bloomberg reporting and Anadolu Agency. The Symi was carrying fuel from Qatar’s Ras Laffan to Kandla, while the NV Sunshine loaded LPG at the UAE’s Ruwais refinery and was headed for India’s west coast. Their passages brought the total number of large oil, fuel, and gas carriers exiting through Hormuz since Sunday to at least nine.aa

Dueling Blockades and Diplomatic Blame

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on the sidelines of a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, insisted that Tehran has “created no obstacle” in the strait. “It is the United States that has imposed the blockade, and I hope this situation will end with the removal of this illegal blockade imposed by the US,” he told Press TV.nournews

The United States maintains its own naval blockade of Iranian ports, launched on April 13. CENTCOM said Wednesday that its forces had redirected 67 commercial vessels, permitted 15 humanitarian ships to transit, and disabled four others since the blockade began. Prior to the conflict, roughly 138 vessels transited the strait daily; in the week before May 3, only about 40 made the crossing, according to Lloyd’s List.cnn