More Ships Reportedly Pass Through Strait Of Hormuz

CAIRO, April 3 (Bernama-dpa) -- The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has recently increased, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing a report by data firm Windward on Friday.

Windward said 16 cargo ships passed through the largely blocked strait on Wednesday, compared with 11 the previous day. The number of passages has now risen for three consecutive days.

However, it still amounts to only a fraction of the traffic prior to the Iran conflict, which began at the end of February when Israel and the United States launched attacks on Tehran. 

Iran has responded by blocking traffic through the key waterway, which is critical to the global oil and gas trade. 

Windward said most of the ships passing in recent days sailed close to the Iranian coast along the island of Larak, allowing Iran to maintain a "permission-based, selective blockade."

The report stated that three ships also passed through the strait close to the Omani coast, avoiding the corridor controlled by Iran.

One of the ships, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Sohar, has arrived off the shore of Muscat, vessel tracking data from MarineTraffic showed. 

It is said to be the first LNG tanker to have passed through the strait since the outbreak of the war.

A container ship belonging to the French shipping giant CMA also passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday to leave the Persian Gulf, the French broadcaster RTL reported. The ship’s navigation signal reportedly indicated a "French owner."

-- BERNAMA-dpa