A Chinese tanker sanctioned by the United States passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday despite a US blockade on the chokepoint, shipping data showed.
The Rich Starry would be the first to make it through the strait and to exit the Gulf since the blockade began, data from LSEG, MarineTraffic and Kpler showed.
The tanker and its owner Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd were sanctioned by the United States for dealing with Iran. The company could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Rich Starry tanker
Rich Starry is a medium-range tanker that is carrying about 250,000 barrels of methanol on board, according to the data. It loaded the cargo at its last port of call, the United Arab Emirates' Hamriyah, the data showed.
The Chinese-owned tanker has Chinese crew on board, the data showed.
Another US-sanctioned tanker Murlikishan also headed into the strait on Tuesday, LSEG data showed. The empty handysize tanker is expected to load fuel oil at Iraq on April 16, Kpler data showed. The vessel, formerly known as MKA, has transported Russian and Iranian oil.
The US military officially began a blockade of Iran's ports on Monday, angering Tehran and adding uncertainty around the crucial waterway, although hopes for dialogue to end the war provided some relief to oil markets, where benchmark prices fell below $100 on Tuesday.
After a breakdown of weekend talks in Islamabad between the two adversaries, a US official said there was continued engagement and forward motion on trying to get to an agreement. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said efforts were still underway to resolve the conflict.
A new deal?
US President Donald Trump said Iran had been in touch on Monday and wanted to make a deal, but that he would not sanction any agreement allowing Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
Since the United States and Israel began the war on February 28, Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels except its own, saying passage would be permitted only under Iranian control and subject to a fee. The fallout has been widespread, since nearly a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies flowed through the narrow waterway before the start of the conflict.
Trump has said Washington would block Iranian vessels and any ships that paid such tolls and that any Iranian "fast-attack" ships that went near the blockade would be eliminated. Tehran has threatened to hit naval ships going through the strait and to retaliate against its Gulf neighbors' ports.