The LNG ​tanker, Sohar LNG, which ⁠it co-owns, had crossed the Strait, making it the first Japan-linked vessel and the first LNG carrier to do so since the conflict began.

A French company CMA CGM and a Japanese gas tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday,, reflecting Iran's policy of allowing passage for ships it deems non-hostile. Tensions escalated after US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in late February, prompting Tehran to initially close the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows through this strategic waterway. Tehran later announced that it would allow passage to ships with no ties to the United States or Israel.

Any signs of a return to normal shipping traffic are being closely watched by the oil and commodity markets. Although several tankers and container ships have managed to circumvent the blockade in recent weeks, this has quickly been followed by a complete standstill lasting for days

French shipping group CMA CGM transited the Hormuz

On a related note, a container ship belonging to the French shipping group CMA CGM transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.  French President Emmanuel Macron said that launching a military operation to forcibly reopen the strait was unrealistic, and that only diplomatic efforts could achieve this. Before entering Iranian waters, the vessel changed its registered destination in the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to 'owner France', indicating its nationality to the Iranian authorities. Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the US, mediated by Oman, are ongoing

Switching off the AIS transponders

Transponders are used during transit because their signals do not appear in ship tracking data. MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking platform, and the London Stock Exchange Group reported that two very large crude carriers and one liquefied natural gas carrier, all operated by Oman Shipping Company, left the Gulf on Thursday, which appears to have been done by switching off the AIS transponders, as their signal disappeared from vessel-tracking data
 

The first time a Japan-linked vessel had crossed

Before the attacks, Oman had mediated talks between Iran and the United States, and it criticised the launching of the strikes during the talks. On Friday, Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines  (MoL)  announced that its jointly owned liquefied natural gas tanker, the Sohar,(IMO 9210816, MMSI 357186000)  had crossed the Strait of Hormuz. This marked the first time a Japan-linked vessel had passed through the waterway since the commencement of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, and the first time a liquefied gas tanker had done so. When asked by Reuters about the timing of the tanker's crossing the strait and the status of any ongoing negotiations, a representative of the Japanese company declined to comment. 

Related : The fate of the three tankers that entered the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf of Oman

The Mitsui-owned Green Sanfei and the Chinese Danisa gas tankers.

By dawn on Friday, 45 vessels owned or operated by Japanese entities were unable to cross the strait, according to the Japanese transport ministry. Shipping data showed that another liquefied petroleum gas tanker, the Mitsui-owned Green Sanfei,(IMO: 9415686) had also left the Gulf via Iranian territorial waters earlier that day The Indian-flagged ship indicated its destination with the words 'Indian ship and Indian crew'.

The data also showed that the Danisa,(IMO 9172739, MMSI 352004406 -sailing under the flag of Panama. ) a giant gas tanker sailing under the Panamanian flag, left the Gulf via the same route as the ship bound for China.

 # Danisa #China # Green Sanfei #Mitsui #India #Oman Shipping Company #London Stock Exchange # Sohar, #Japan #Mo # CMA CGM #Strait of Hormuz#Tahran # (AIS)