A French-owned container ship has successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first transit by a major Western European shipping company since Iran effectively closed the vital waterway following US-Israeli strikes in late February.
The Maltese-flagged Kribi, operated by French shipping giant CMA CGM, passed through the strait on Thursday using what Lloyd's List maritime journal has dubbed the "Tehran Toll Booth" — an Iranian-approved corridor near Larak Island. The vessel displayed "Owner France" on its tracking system while crossing, signaling its nationality to Iranian authorities.
Maritime tracking data showed the ship had exited the Gulf and was sailing off Muscat, Oman by Friday morning. The vessel had originally been bound for Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo before changing its listed destination to "Owner France" prior to entering Iranian territorial waters.
The crossing represents a significant development in the month-long maritime crisis that has disrupted global energy supplies. Before the conflict began, approximately 20 percent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas transited through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman's Musandam Peninsula.
Iran sharply restricted access to the strait after February 28 US-Israeli strikes triggered retaliatory attacks, leaving roughly 200 vessels stranded in surrounding waters. Traffic through the passage has plummeted by 95 percent, with only about 100 vessels managing to cross since March 1 — down from the peacetime average of 120 daily transits.
Reports the crossing as a factual development while noting the vessel's strategic signaling of French nationality. Emphasizes the broader context of maritime disruption and economic implications.