The nearly 190-meter-long tanker Rich Starry was located outside Dubai before it began approaching the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, various international media reported.
The US had announced that the naval blockade would be in effect from 4 p.m. Swedish time. Rich Starry was then circling the Iranian island of Qeshm right next to the strait - and just before midnight it departed and began its passage.
The ship is said to have been loaded with methanol in an Emirati port. It is sailing under a Malawian flag of convenience, but both the ship and its Chinese owner are under US sanctions due to links to Iran.
Stop outside?
A few hours later, during the night another tanker sailed through the strait in the opposite direction. It came from China and is also reportedly under sanctions after carrying Iranian and Russian cargo. It arrived off the coast of Iran on Tuesday morning.
When the US deadline expired and the blockade was to begin, another tanker was on its way out of the strait, and the passage apparently took place without any intervention. That ship is also under US sanctions for having carried Iranian oil.
The ships that have sailed out of the Persian Gulf through the strait have been stuck in the Gulf of Oman. It is not clear whether they have been prevented from sailing further. It is also not clear whether they have had to deal with Iran, which says it is demanding customs duties.
Several ships have previously identified themselves as Chinese during the war, or pretended to be, in order to pass unharmed.
Threatened to eliminate
It was on Sunday that US President Donald Trump issued an order to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. When the US military later clarified the operation, it was announced that all shipping to and from Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman would be stopped.
"If Iran's ports are not left alone, then no other state's ports in the Persian Gulf will be either," the Iranian military responded on state television. During the war, Iran has launched many counterattacks against energy targets in the countries on the other side of the Gulf.
At least 15 US warships are in the region to enforce the blockade, according to the Wall Street Journal. Donald Trump claims that the US military has "wiped out" Iran’s navy, but admits that the country still has many fast patrol boats.
"Warning: If any of these ships even approach our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated," he wrote in a post.
