Trade ships hit in Hormuz as Iran reopening falters

Cargo ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in February before the war on Iran. Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE /AFP via Getty Images

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London — A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Hormuz Strait Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again.

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Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the Middle East war in protest at an ongoing U.S. counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments.

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During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated.

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However, tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but then turned back near Iran’s Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under Iranian forces’ blockade of the passage.

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Four French-owned container ships bearing the name of major shipping firm CMA CGM also made U-turns in the strait on Saturday after starting to exit, the platform indicated.

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Gunboats of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp fired on a tanker in the strait northeast of Oman, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in an online statement.

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“Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating.”

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The UKMTO said later that it also received a report of a container ship in the same area “being hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage to some of the containers” but no fire.

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Around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas pass the strait in peacetime, but traffic through the route came to a near-standstill after the war erupted on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

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Iran’s central military command on Saturday appeared to reverse the decision to reopen the route, saying it would resume “strict management” of the strait because of the continued U.S. naval counter-blockade.

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Iranian forces’ closure of the strait has trapped hundreds of ships in the Gulf and driven up the price of oil and the costs of shipping goods, with captains avoiding the region for fear of attacks or mines.

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At least three of the vessels tracked exiting via the strait on Saturday were listed as being under U.S. sanctions.

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MarineTraffic indicated that a cruise ship, the Celestyal Discovery, became the first passenger vessel to transit the strait since the start of the conflict.

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It crossed close to the coast of Oman on Friday afternoon after having been docked for about 47 days in the United Arab Emirates.

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“Reports indicate the vessel is sailing without passengers,” Marine Traffic said in a post on X.

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At least two other passenger ships showed up on the tracking platform passing the strait close to Oman on Saturday.

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The shipping industry had reacted guardedly to the reopening on Friday.