Two Chinese Tankers Change Course, Don’t Challenge US Blockade
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It appears Chinese tankers backed down.
Two sanctioned tankers linked to China changed course and did not challenge the US blockade.
Tuesday was the first full day of the U.S. blockade of Iran and the first day after the United States declared the Strait of Hormuz was open to international shipping.
According to ship tracking data, at least eight ships passed through the strait, which remains far below its pre-war level of about 130 ships per day. Two sanctioned tankers linked to China appear to have changed their minds about challenging the United States Navy and reversed course.
CENTCOM celebrated no ships making it past the blockade in the first 24 hours.
CENTCOM wrote, “During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”
President Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been successful in preventing ships from coming and going from Iranian ports, US Central Command announced Tuesday.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Tracking data, however, shows that at least four Iran-linked ships, including a Chinese tanker, passed through the strait on Tuesday — but CENTCOM’s statement suggests those boats did so during the blockade’s grace period and with the permission of the navy.
CENTCOM did not elaborate on which ships were stopped or on the sanctioned tankers that have passed through.
Trump’s foreign policy is working!
