SINGAPORE: The U.S.-sanctioned tanker Rich Starry made its way ‌back to the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after exiting the Gulf the day before, shipping data showed, failing to break ​through a U.S. blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after weekend peace ​talks in ​Islamabad between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal. "During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade," the U.S. Central Command said on X, adding that ⁠six vessels complied with directions from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port. The Chinese-owned tanker was among at least eight ships crossing the waterway on Tuesday, the first day of the U.S. blockade. A U.S. destroyer stopped two oil tankers attempting to leave the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman ​on Tuesday, a ‌U.S. official said.

The Rich ⁠Starry and its owner, ⁠Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co, were placed under U.S. sanctions for dealing with Iran. The company could not be reached for ​a comment.

The Rich Starry is a medium-range tanker carrying about 250,000 barrels of ‌methanol that was loaded at the port of Hamriyah in the United ⁠Arab Emirates, Kpler data showed.

The blockade has created even further uncertainty for shippers, oil companies and war risk insurers. Traffic remains at only a fraction of the 130-plus daily crossings before the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28, industry sources said on Tuesday. Another U.S.-sanctioned vessel, the Very Large Crude Carrier Alicia that has a record of carrying Iranian oilsince 2023, is entering the Gulf via the strait on Wednesday, Kpler and LSEG data showed. The empty tanker, capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, is heading to Iraq to load a cargo on Thursday, Kpler data showed. Separately, the Malta-flagged VLCC Agios ‌Fanourios I entered the Gulf via the strait on Wednesday in a second ⁠attempt to transit, according to the data. The tanker was among several ​vessels that tried to enter the Gulf on Sunday during the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal.

It is heading to Iraq to load Basra crude for Vietnam's Nghi Son refinery, according to the data and trade sources.

Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, which manages ​the Agios Fanourios I, ‌and Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

 

(Reporting ⁠by Florence Tan in Singapore, Mariko Katsumura ​in Tokyo, Enas Alashray in Cairo and Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)


Reuters