Two fully laden Chinese oil tankers are waiting near the Strait of Hormuz with a third on its way, putting them in a position to become the first such vessels to leave the Persian Gulf under a day-old US-Iran ceasefire, even as shipowners scrutinize the details of the truce.
The Cospearl Lake, a very-large crude carrier linked to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping Corp., and He Rong Hai, owned by a smaller entity, appeared to be traveling east early on Thursday morning at near-top speeds, according to ship-tracking data, before coming to a virtual halt. Another Cosco-linked VLCC, the Yuan Hua Hu, began its eastward journey a few hours later.
All three are signaling Chinese ownership on their tracking systems, a move typically done for safety during Iran-approved transits.
The tankers are part of a growing armada amassing at the entrance to the strait, off the United Arab Emirates. A Saudi Arabian-flagged VLCC, the Jaham, has moved east toward a nearby holding area off Dubai. They join other ships including two Indian-flagged, fully-laden supertankers that have been in the area since late March – the Desh Vibhor, which is off Ras Al Khaimah, and the Desh Vaibhav, which is near Dubai.
Iran and the US agreed to a pause in fighting in exchange for the unblocking of Hormuz, but there is still little clarity on the fine print. Continued attacks – including Israeli strikes in Lebanon – have raised questions about the effectiveness of a ceasefire. Since the truce and supposed opening of the strait were announced a day ago, there has also been little change in traffic.
The Chinese and Saudi vessels’ shifts in positions along the gulf underscore their intentions to cross the strait after having been locked up in the inland sea for weeks. Their journeys onward remain uncertain.