French, Japanese ships cross Strait of Hormuz in first since war

PARIS: 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 (Apr 3).

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.