The ship CMA CGM Kribi, which is formally French-owned, passed through the strait on Thursday afternoon, according to shipping websites monitored by Bloomberg.
The ship clearly signaled its origin, flying a Maltese flag, and followed a course along the Iranian coast.
French-Lebanese
In its war with the US and Israel, Iran has linked control of the narrow Strait of Hormuz to a countermeasure with enormous economic consequences. Ships trying to pass through have been threatened with attack, but a limited number of ships from countries with which Iran has better relations have been allowed to pass.
The Kribi is owned by CMA CGM SA, the world's third-largest shipping company. The majority owners of the company are the Saadé family, who founded it in Marseille in 1978 after moving there from Lebanon.
Neither the company nor France's foreign or finance ministries have commented or responded to questions about how the ship was able to pass. Bloomberg notes that it appeared low in the water, suggesting it was loaded.
At least three other ships appear to have passed through the strait on Thursday along the opposite coast, and all identified themselves as owned by shipping companies in Oman.
Will help each other
French President Emmanuel Macron is in South Korea. He met with President Lee Jae-Myung on Friday, after US President Donald Trump complained that allies were not helping in the US and Israel's war with Iran.
Macron and Lee appeared together at a press conference. They stressed that they would work together to restore trade through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the two presidents did not elaborate on how this would work and did not take follow-up questions.
US President Donald Trump recently said that countries with greater economic interests should step in and protect those interests in the Strait of Hormuz. He has specifically targeted South Korea, Japan and China.
Almost a fifth of the world's total oil and gas exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Most of the cargo ships that travel this route have destinations in Asia.
