The French ship CMA CGM Kribi has left the Strait of Hormuz

The 5,500 TEU containership CMA CGM Kribi I (IMO 9694543, MMSI 215922000 -sailing under the flag of Malta ) has now passed through the Strait of Hormuz and is sailing off the coast of Oman. The Maltese-flagged vessel is currently displaying 'Owner France' on its AIS system instead of its destination. It entered the strait at the end of February, having come from Cape Town, and is bound for Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

As reported by Lloyd's Lis

As reported by Lloyd's List yesterday, the CMA CGM Kribi, which is currently still in the Persian Gulf, was supposed to follow the route "approved" by Iran. This route includes passing near the island of Larak. This is likely the same route used by the two other Chinese container ships that have successfully passed through the passage in recent days: the CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean. The latter ship made an initial attempt to approach the passage last Friday, but this was aborted. It finally passed through on Monday

.The two Cosco ships 

The two Cosco ships also reported information regarding the nationality of the vessel and crew in their AIS data. These two procedures appear similar, were it not for the fact that the countries to which the Cosco and CMA CGM ships belong — China and France — have decidedly divergent positions regarding their relations with Iran.

Related : Reuters : Japanese, French, and Omani ships cross the Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian authorities the green light

Although the Iranian authorities had given Beijing the green light (Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the passage would be open to ships from friendly countries, including China, Russia, India, Iraq and Pakistan), it was unclear to the French company what factors had contributed to the decision: the more communicative stance of French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently called the idea of using force to reopen the Strait 'unrealistic'; its ties with the Middle East; the more prosaic possibility of paying a toll (a procedure approved by the Iranian parliament in recent days); or a combination of these factors. It should also be noted that CMA CGM had previously paved the way for a potential return to Red Sea transit before the international situation deteriorated further amid the conflict initiated by the US and Israel against Iran.

Concerns among global economies

However, the situation appears to have become more fluid in recent hours. A 660-TEU containership sailing under  the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis and owned by Dubai-based Exceed Oceanic Trading is also preparing to pass through the channel inside Larak Island to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to analyst Lars Jensen. The vessel's destination is Mumbai, and it is not listed as a specific nationality in the AIS systems. Nevertheless, these are container ships and therefore carry less sensitive cargo than energy products or fertilisers, which are currently causing concern among global economies.

Maritime Executive's assessment

In this context Maritime Executive's assessment is that "it appears that Iran has decided to turn a blind eye, while simultaneously reporting that the country is negotiating with Oman to draft a protocol for managing the Strait of Hormuz".

Source : Agencies+ Media Italy

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