A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again.
The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”.
Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the war to protest an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments.
During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early on Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated.
However, tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but then turned back near Iran’s Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under Iranian forces’ blockade of the passage.
Gunboats of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fired on a tanker in the strait northeast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in an online statement.
“Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating.”
The UKMTO said later that it also received a report of a container ship in the same area “being hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage to some of the containers” but no fire.
At least three of the vessels tracked exiting via the strait were listed as being under US sanctions.
