Three tankers exit Hormuz hugging Omani coast

In what appears to be the first exit from the Persian Gulf by oil tankers without permission from Iran, three large vessels linked to Oman left the Strait of Hormuz by hugging the sultanate’s coastline, Bloomberg reported on April 3.

Satellite signals indicate that two oil supertankers, Dhalkut and Habrut, alongside the liquefied natural gas carrier Sohar LNG, entered the strait eastbound on April 2 before reappearing off Muscat a day later. All three ships are managed by Oman Ship Management Company, according to the Equasis marine database, though the company did not respond to requests for comment.

If confirmed, that would suggest there is a passage for the hundreds of ships currently trapped in the Persian Gulf, without seeking a permits-for-passage from the IRGC that controls the cost. However, it is also possible that the IRGC allowed the ships to pass as they belong to a “friendly country” and Tehran is currently in talks with Muscat on sharing control of the Strait after the war ends.

Under the new toll road arrangement, Tehran has begun permitting limited passage for vessels via a northern corridor between Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands that is close to the Iranian coast and within range of its missiles and drones.

Iran has expanded the number of countries allowed to use the strait provided they demonstrate defiance of the US and do not participate in military actions against the country. Both Denmark and France have recently been given permits as the first European countries to traverse the passage.

On April 3 the French container ship "Kribi" passed through Hormuz after French President Emmanuel Macron publically condemned the US-Israel attack on Iran and indirectly rebuked Trump for changing his mind everyday.

"This is not a show. We are talking about war and peace and the lives of men and women," the French president told journalists upon arrival in South Korea for a state visit.

"When you want to be serious you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before," Macron added.

"And maybe you shouldn't be speaking every day. You should just let things quieten down."

He went on to say  that military operation to liberate the Strait of Hormuz is "unrealistic," and was immediatley rewarded by Tehran which granted permission for the French container ship to pass through the Strait. 

The three vessels identified are among the largest classes of oil tankers, each capable of carrying about 2mn barrels of crude. The LNG carrier is the first of its kind to leave the Gulf since the conflict began, although tracking data suggest it may currently be empty, Bloomberg reports. One tanker had loaded in Saudi Arabia in late February and listed its destination as Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, a key node for pipelines supplying crude to western China. The other was carrying oil from Abu Dhabi to an undisclosed destination.

Tracking ship movements in the area has become increasingly difficult due to signal jamming and spoofing. All three vessels stopped transmitting their positions at around 09:30 London time as they approached the Musandam Peninsula, before reappearing near Muscat on April 3.