(March 31): Two container ships linked to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping Corp exited the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the first vessels operated by a major Beijing-backed company to navigate the waterway since the start of the war.
The CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean had made an attempt to transit at the end of last week before turning back. They tried again on Monday morning, starting their almost 12-hour-long journeys from waters off Dubai and signalling Chinese ownership, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows. They then took a route near Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands at the narrow opening of the strait — a path apparently approved by Iran — before sailing into the Gulf of Oman.
China confirmed on Tuesday that Chinese vessels had transited through the strait — the first time Beijing has acknowledged any passage since the war began. The transits were done with “the facilitation and coordination of relevant sides", a spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a regular press briefing, in response to a question.
She referred to three vessels without naming the ships or providing details. A Chinese-flagged bulk carrier also transited the strait earlier in the month.
“The Strait of Hormuz is an important route for international trade in goods and energy. China calls for an early ceasefire and a peaceful and stable Persian Gulf,” she added.
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The ships don’t appear to be carrying any cargo aside from empty container boxes, according to draft readings. They are listed as part of Cosco Shipping Lines Co’s fleet, a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Corp. The company didn’t respond to emailed queries.
Iran has all but cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz for the past month, allowing mostly its own and some approved vessels to transit. Tehran has said that it would only green-light ships that are friendly to Iran and is advancing plans for a toll fee, formalising its control of the waterway.
The global shipping market has been keenly watching the journeys of these two Cosco ships after they reversed course on Friday, for reasons that are not yet clear. As with the first journey, they signalled Chinese ownership and crew on Monday, an apparent effort to ensure safe passage.
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The two vessels, each with the capacity to transport about 19,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, had been stuck in the gulf since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran more than a month ago.
Cosco Shipping is one of the world’s largest shipowners, with massive container ships and tanker fleets operated by its subsidiaries. Cosco also has at least six crude tankers stuck inside the Gulf since the war began, according to ship-tracking data.
In an early sign of a resumption of Hormuz transits, Cosco Shipping Lines last week informed customers that it would be recommencing bookings for general cargo containers from East Asia to the Middle East, including some located in the Gulf. The company owns and operates 453 container ships that have a total capacity of about 2.5 million TEUs as at end January.
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