Hormuz traffic picks up as ULCCs cross strait

At least 20 vessels have crossed the strait of Hormuz since 28 March, ship tracking data show. The level remains a fraction of pre-war traffic but marks a clear rise compared with recent weeks, when tracking data showed only a small number of ships passing through each day.

Around 15 of the tracked vessels were sailing eastbound out of the Mideast Gulf, according to MarineTraffic data.

They include two ultra-large container carriers (ULCCs) linked to China's Cosco — the CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean — which abandoned attempts to transit on 27 March. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that day that its navy had turned back three container ships attempting to pass through the strait.

The CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean were heading towards the channel between Qeshm and Larak islands earlier today. Their AIS signals dropped shortly afterwards and reappeared just east of the strait at around 08:30 GMT, indicating they had completed the crossing.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said last week that the strait remains open except to Iran's "enemies", and that Tehran has allowed passage for vessels from "friendly countries, including China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan".

Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar said on 28 March that Iran has approved 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to sail through Hormuz.

At least two Pakistani vessels have passed through since the war began. The Lorax — also known as Karachi — left the UAE's Das Island on 28 February with about 500,000 bl of crude bound for Karachi, vessel tracking data show. The P Aliki passed Hormuz on 11 March carrying nearly 600,000 bl of crude from Ras Tanura to Karachi, according to Vortexa.

By Rhys van Dinther