Chinese ships halt attempt to cross Strait of Hormuz despite Iran's safe passage assurances

Despite assurances from Iran that Chinese vessels can pass the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data on Friday showed that two Chinese container ships turned backed after trying to exit the Gulf via the strait.

According to a Reuters report, the operator, China's COSCO, had said in a ⁠March 25 client advisory that it had resumed bookings for general cargo containers for ‌shipments from Asia to the United Arab ​Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

Since the US-Israeli war with Iran started on February 28, the Hong Kong-flagged CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean have been trapped in the Gulf.

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According to information from the Kpler data platform, they tried to cross the strait on Friday around 0350 GMT but then turned around.

While this was ​the first crossing attempted by a ⁠major shipping group since the start of the war, Friday's incident showed "safe passage could not be guaranteed", Kpler analyst Rebecca Gerdes said.

On Wednesday, Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Tweet that Iran "permitted passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly nations including China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan".

The two vessels both ⁠broadcast messages on ‌their AIS ship-tracking systems stating they had Chinese owners and crews, data on the LSEG platform showed on Friday.

Shanghai-based parent company COSCO Shipping was not immediately available for comment.

Three ‌container ships of various nationalities were turned back from the Strait of Hormuz after warnings from the Revolutionary Guards' naval force, Iranian state ⁠media reported on Friday, without providing further details.

Iran has launched attacks on Gulf shipping and threatened more, stranding hundreds of vessels and 20,000 seafarers inside the Gulf. ‌Energy exports including crude oil from Saudi Arabia and liquefied natural gas from Qatar have ‌been effectively halted.

(With Reuters inputs)