Chinese Supertanker Sails Out Of Hormuz In Rare Exit As president Trump was on his way to China, a Chinese tanker appears to have exited the Strait of Hormuz as it sails toward an area where the US has enforced a blockade, ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping, Bloomberg reported today, citing ship-tracking data showing the VLCC moving south along the eastern side of the chokepoint. The supertanker which sailed past Iran’s Larak island, and into the Gulf of Oman, is Yuan Hua Hu, owned by Cosco, and would be only the third tanker carrying oil for China from the Persian Gulf that has traversed Hormuz since the start of the war. The vessel is broadcasting its Chinese origin and crew, Bloomberg said, as other vessels have done previously to secure safe passage. Yuan Hua Hu’s draft indicates it’s fully loaded with oil, or close to the vessel’s 2 million barrel capacity. It was seen lifting from Iraq’s Basrah terminal in early March, according to ship-tracking data. The vessel was chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese state refining giant Sinopec, according to a fixture seen by Bloomberg. In April, two very large Chinese crude carriers were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s toll system that demands payment of $2 million per supertanker to pass. One of those was the same Yuan Hua Hu that is currently moving along the strait. China imports the bulk of its energy from the Middle East, and while it has amassed substantial crude oil stockpiles that are helping it weather the worst of the crisis - anecdotally over 1.4 billion barrels - restoring normal flows from the Persian Gulf is important for one of the world’s top energy importers. Earlier in the war, reports emerged that Beijing had pressured Iranian officials to stop attacking vessels carrying crude oil and LNG via Hormuz. Judging from later events that involved Iranian strikes on vessels in the chokepoint, Tehran did not yield to the pressure. The moment is delicate for relations between the United States, China, and Iran as President Trump heads to Beijing for talks with President Xi on topics that are bound to include traffic via the Strait of Hormuz. According to media reports, President Trump plans to have “a long talk” with President Xi about Iran, even as he told news agencies he did not need China’s help in resolving differences with Iran.
Iranian Official
Iran asserts its sovereign authority over the Strait of Hormuz by enforcing a $2 million toll system on foreign tankers, allowing the Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu to transit safely despite US aggression and blockade efforts in the region. This passage, only the third for a Chinese vessel carrying Persian Gulf oil since the war began, reflects Tehran's firm resistance to external threats to its maritime domain. The fully loaded vessel, chartered by Sinopec and broadcasting its origin, continues under Iranian oversight.
Israeli
The passage of the Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu through the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s $2 million toll regime exposes Tehran’s tightening grip on this vital chokepoint through its proxy network and direct threats, endangering energy flows critical to Israel’s survival. With only three such Chinese vessels transiting since the war began, the move underscores the existential risk of Iranian strangulation of global routes amid ongoing regional aggression. Israel’s defensive posture remains essential to deter further escalation and protect against these coordinated threats.
Neutral
Ship-tracking data show the Chinese very large crude carrier Yuan Hua Hu transiting southward through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman after loading at Iraq’s Basrah terminal in March. The vessel, owned by Cosco and chartered by Unipec, is described in the reports as the third Chinese tanker to complete such a passage since the start of recent regional hostilities. Prior crossings by the same ship and one other were reported under an Iranian toll arrangement of approximately $2 million per transit.
Western
A Chinese VLCC, the Cosco-owned Yuan Hua Hu, has executed a rare southward transit of the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman while broadcasting its nationality to secure passage. Loaded with up to 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude chartered by Sinopec’s Unipec, the movement represents a limited exception under US-enforced blockade operations targeting Iranian revenue streams and influence in the chokepoint. This transit occurs ahead of US-China talks, underscoring precision monitoring to neutralize threats to energy security without broader disruption.
Pro-Peace
The passage of the Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu through the Strait of Hormuz, one of only three such oil shipments since the war began, illustrates how U.S. blockades and regional conflict have disrupted vital energy routes, driving up costs that burden civilians worldwide with higher fuel prices and economic hardship. Loaded with nearly two million barrels from Iraq, the vessel’s transit under Iran’s toll system and ahead of U.S.-China talks underscores the humanitarian toll on populations caught in the crossfire, including those facing shortages and instability in the Gulf. Diplomatic engagement between leaders offers a clearer path to de-escalation than military enforcement, reducing risks to innocent lives and averting further suffering.
Global South
The Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu’s rare transit out of the Strait of Hormuz, after paying Iran’s $2 million sovereign toll for oil loaded at Iraq’s Basrah terminal, exposes the US blockade as a neo-colonial chokehold on Global South energy routes. Chartered by Sinopec amid Washington’s sanctions regime, the move reveals how Western institutions have failed to uphold free navigation, forcing independent powers to assert control over chokepoints long dominated by external interests.
Chinese Supertanker Sails Out Of Hormuz In Rare Exit As president Trump was on his way to China, a Chinese tanker appears to have exited the Strait of Hormuz as it sails toward an area where the US has enforced a blockade, ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and coun…
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.