US SAYS BLOCKADE INTACT
Iranian forces effectively closed the strait after the war broke out with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The US on Sunday announced its own blockade after peace talks with Iran failed.
The US military said Tuesday its blockade had held and that it had stopped six vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports outside the Gulf during the first 24 hours.
“No ships made it past the US blockade and six merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” outside the strait, regional command CENTCOM said in a post on X.
It said the blockade was “being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman”.
The Elpis’s AIS transponder signal appeared to go off at 2300 GMT on Monday after it crossed the strait and its location on Tuesday could not be determined.
CHINESE TANKER TURNS AROUND
A Chinese tanker, the Rich Starry, also crossed the strait overnight from Monday to Tuesday via the Iranian-approved vetting route south of Larak Island.
Kpler said that vessel was carrying 31,500 tonnes of methanol and was bound for Sohar in Oman, according to data from its transponder.
It turned around while in the Gulf of Oman at around 1100 GMT on Tuesday and headed back up towards the strait, its destination unknown.
The Christianna turned around off Oman, where it was heading, at around 1500 GMT. Its new destination was also unknown.
The other vessels crossing were the bulk carrier Manali, which had traded with Iran in the past.
The other two were Iran-flagged ships: the container carrier Kashan, which is under US sanctions, and the Moshtari, a cargo ship that then went to an Iranian port on the strait.
The Rich Starry and Elpis are listed by the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control as being sanctioned for ties to Iran.