A container ship owned by French shipping giant CMA CGM, has just transited the Strait of Hormuz in what appears to be the first vessel linked to Western Europe to have successfully braved the critical chokepoint since the war in the Middle East began.
The Malta-flagged CMA CGM Kribi, which openly broadcasts its French ownership, transited the Strait of Hormuz between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, according to vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.
Data on MarineTraffic showed that CMA CGM Kribi was in the Oman Gulf as of 12 p.m. CET.
The container vessel departed from offshore Dubai toward Iran on Thursday afternoon local time and stuck close to the Iranian coast. The ship moved through the Iranian islands Qeshm and Larak in the Strait of Hormuz and its signal on Friday indicated it was offshore Muscat in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessel has indeed transited the Strait of Hormuz, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg.
French shipping giant CMA CGM, majority-owned by the Saade family, is understood to have coordinated the transit with Iranian maritime authorities, Euronews reported.
Approached by reporters from the Financial Times, France’s foreign ministry declined to say if France had played a role in facilitating the passage of the CMA CGM Kribi.
Iran selectively allows certain ships to transit the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, through which 20% of daily global oil and LNG passed before the war. Most vessels that have transited the Strait of Hormuz so far have been bound to India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, and other countries in Asia, and have owners in Asia.
The passing of the CMA CGM container ship through the Strait of Hormuz is the first known transit of a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war began at the end of February.
In recent days, France and the UK have been spearheading international efforts to seek diplomatic and international pressure ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
The UK on Thursday hosted a virtual meeting of more than three dozen countries to discuss pathways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to free vessel traffic.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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