While the Rich Starry didn’t visit an Iranian port, it is on a US blacklist for allegedly helping Tehran evade sanctions
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAmber Wangin BeijingPublished: 9:53pm, 15 Apr 2026A fully laden Chinese tanker has twice turned back from the US blockade of traffic leaving Iranian ports, despite setting off from the UAE.
The incident highlights how Chinese commercial vessels are weighing up the risks posed by the naval blockade, with analysts saying no country’s ships are receiving “special treatment” at present.
The Rich Starry sailed east through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman around 2am local time on Tuesday, according to data from Mingkun Technology, a Chongqing-based maritime information provider.
It made a U-turn at about 3pm and made its way back through the strait. As of Wednesday evening, the Rich Starry was anchored southwest off Iran’s Larak Island.
The 188-metre-long (616 feet) oil and chemical tanker departed its anchorage off Sharjah in the UAE on Monday and set course towards the strait. However, it turned back within minutes of approaching the chokepoint, according to vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic.
The US-sanctioned vessel, which flies the flag of the landlocked African nation Malawi, is reportedly carrying about 250,000 barrels of methanol it picked up in the UAE.
