At least four Iran-linked ships, including a Chinese tanker, were seen transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday — nearly 24 hours after President Trump’s blockage came into effect, tracking data shows.
Two of the ships — Christianna and Elpis — had visited Iranian ports despite the US military vowing to block shipping traffic in and out of them, according to MarineTraffic data.
Meanwhile, the Rich Starry and Murlikishan tankers, which are both under US sanctions for Iran-related trade, also sailed through the critical oil chokepoint overnight.
The Rich Starry, which is owned by a Chinese shipping company, initially appeared to halt its journey ahead of the blockade deadline on Monday but reversed course several hours later and exited the waterway, the New York Times reported.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the US was taking any immediate action to enforce Trump’s blockade.
Trump, for his part, vowed on Monday to fight back against Iran’s “WORLD EXTORTION” and ensure that no one paying tolls to the regime would get through the waterway after cease-fire negotiations fell through.
In retaliation, Tehran threatened to hit naval ships going through the strait and to retaliate against its Gulf neighbors’ ports.
