In what could become the first real test of the fragile US-Iran ceasefire, two Chinese oil tankers are moving towards the Strait of Hormuz and may emerge as the first large, non-Iranian vessels to cross since the truce was announced, Bloomberg reported citing ship-tracking data. The vessels, Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai, were seen sailing eastward in the Persian Gulf at near top speeds early Thursday, while signaling Chinese ownership on their tracking systems, a precaution typically used before Iran-approved transits.
Their movement is significant because the ceasefire has yet to restore normal shipping activity. Several vessels have turned back at the last moment, and traffic through the strait, a critical global oil route, has shown little change over the past day. On their current trajectories, the ships could attempt a crossing later on Thursday.
Minimal clarity on Strait's status
If the tankers do make it through, they would become the first major foreign carriers to navigate the passage since the US and Iran agreed to pause hostilities in exchange for reopening the waterway. But clarity on what exactly was agreed remains limited. Continued fighting in the region, including Israeli strikes in Lebanon, has raised fresh questions about how durable the ceasefire really is. US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the strait would be open. Iran, however, has said its armed forces will control traffic and has sent broadcasts informing ships the strait remains closed, even as it designated safe routes for vessels entering and exiting. The Chinese vessels stand out not just for their timing, but also for what they are carrying. One tanker is loaded with Iraqi crude, while the other is carrying Saudi oil, according to Bloomberg.
China-linked shipping resumes cautiously
Cospearl Lake’s journey is particularly notable as it would mark the first such attempt by a tanker linked to China’s state-run Cosco Shipping during the six-week conflict. Like other large operators, Cosco has largely stayed cautious, with its crude carriers effectively stranded after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to all but shut the strait in retaliation. Both vessels had spent most of March idling in the central Persian Gulf as part of a wider cluster of tankers before beginning their eastward movement on Thursday, according to the ship-tracking data cited by Bloomberg. There is also precedent for this kind of cautious routing. Late last month, two Cosco container ships attempted a similar exit, veering north along the Iranian coast, a path that has been used by vessels that secured Tehran’s approval. Beijing later said it had worked with relevant parties to help extract Chinese ships from the Gulf, without naming them. Shipping records add further detail to the vessels now attempting the passage. Cospearl Lake entered the Gulf in late January and later loaded close to 2 million barrels of crude from Iraq’s Basrah in early March. It is operated by Cosco Shipping Energy Transport, with ownership linked to Cospearl Lake Maritime Ltd., according to maritime database Equasis. He Rong Hai, meanwhile, arrived in the Gulf just before the conflict escalated in late February and loaded more than 2 million barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia’s Juaymah terminal in early March.