On Monday, March 30th, according to Bloomberg, two vessels belonging to China’s Cosco Group successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz. These two container ships, named “China Ocean Indian” and “China Ocean Arctic,” departed from the Persian Gulf on Monday morning and smoothly navigated through the strait, heading away from the Middle East. They started their journey from the waters near Dubai, embarking on a nearly 12-hour voyage, entering the narrow strait between Iran’s Larak Island and Qeshm Island to reach the Strait of Hormuz, then proceeding into the waters of the Gulf of Oman.
This marks the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war that cargo ships from a large Chinese shipping company have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Signals emitted by the two ships during their voyage indicated that both the shipowners and crew were of Chinese background. According to information from Cosco’s website, both ships are listed as members of the company’s fleet.
Reports mention that based on the draft depth readings, it appears that these two ships were only carrying empty containers on their second attempt to traverse the strait, without any cargo on board.
Also on the previous Friday, the 27th, the same two ships followed a similar route. According to analysis from the Kpler data platform, the two container ships attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz at 3:50 am Greenwich Mean Time on the previous Friday but chose to turn back near Iran. The reasons for their turnaround are currently unclear.
The carrying capacity of these two freighters is 19,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). They have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for over a month since the war broke out between the United States and Israel against Iran.
Cosco Shipping is one of the world’s largest shipowners, operating a vast fleet of container ships and oil tankers through its subsidiaries. Vessel tracking data shows that in addition to the container ships, Cosco has at least six oil tankers stranded in the Persian Gulf since the outbreak of the war.
One of the early signs of the resumption of the Strait of Hormuz route was when Cosco Shipping informed clients last Wednesday, the 25th, that they would resume bookings for regular container ships carrying goods from East Asia to the Middle East (including parts of the Gulf region). As of the end of January, the company owned and operated 453 container ships with a total capacity of approximately 2.5 million TEU.
However, according to reports in the Chinese media, after the vessels “China Ocean Indian” and “China Ocean Arctic” began crossing the Strait of Hormuz back to China, an official responsible for Cosco’s shipping logistics told the Shanghai Securities Journal reporters that the previous information was false and not to be believed.
According to Fox News, a vessel from the Hong Kong shipping company Lotus Rising also followed Cosco’s two ships’ route last Friday but abruptly turned back near Larak Island. It is currently unknown what the vessel’s upcoming navigation plans are.