A Chinese tanker sanctioned by the U.S. transited the Strait of Hormuz this morning despite the American blockade, illustrating that the U.S. Navy’s action has not completely cut off traffic through the key waterway despite Trump’s initial announcement.
A U.S.-sanctioned Chinese tanker passes through the Strait of Hormuz, displayed in a tracked map by Marine Traffic.
Marine Traffic / via Reuters
MarineTraffic data showed that the Rich Starry, a medium-range chemical tanker, was the first vessel to pass through the waterway overnight after departing Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It listed China as its destination.
The tanker and its Chinese owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping, were sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2018 over dealings with Iran. At the time, the vessel was flagged in Hong Kong.
Its transit shows the limits of the U.S. action against vessels linked to the Iranian regime, amid the blockade of Iranian ports and coastline. Central Command clarified that the blockade does not apply to “vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”
According to International Maritime Organization data, the Rich Starry has falsely identified itself as a Malawi-flagged ship since July and, earlier in 2024, as a Guyana-flagged vessel. It was officially registered in Hong Kong in 2015, the same year it was built.
As it approached the Strait of Hormuz, the Rich Starry briefly made a U-turn alongside another tanker before resuming its transit through the waterway.