French-owned ship passes through Strait of Hormuz

## Summary
French-owned ship passes through Strait of Hormuz 54 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Rachel Clun Business reporter Getty Images A French-owned ship has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, more than a month after the US-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the vital transport route. The Malta-flagged container ship owned by French company CMA CGM crossed the Strait, media organisation BFM TV - which is owned by the shipping company - confirmed on Friday. It is the first ship owned by a major Western European firm to go through the strait since the conflict began, shipping analysts Kpler confirmed. A Japanese ship carrying natural gas also made it out of the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese shipping giant MOL confirmed. "The safety of the vessel and all crew members have been confirmed," MOL said. "We will continue to place the highest priority on ensuring the safety of our crew, cargo, and vessels as operations proceed." Several ships that made the journey through the strait on Thursday hugged "unusually close" to the coast of Oman, according to maritime news and intelligence service Lloyd's List.

## Article Content
French-owned ship passes through Strait of Hormuz
54 minutes ago
Share
Save
Add as preferred on Google
Rachel Clun
Business reporter
Getty Images
A French-owned ship has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, more than a month after the US-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the vital transport route.
The Malta-flagged container ship owned by French company CMA CGM crossed the Strait, media organisation BFM TV - which is owned by the shipping company - confirmed on Friday. CMA CGM declined to comment.
It is the first ship owned by a major Western European firm to go through the strait since the conflict began, shipping analysts Kpler confirmed.
While Iran has said "non-hostile vessels" can use the waterway, the ongoing conflict - in which
several ships have been attacked
- has halted normal transport activity.
Tracking data showed the French-owned ship passed close to the coast of Oman on the opposite side of the waterway to Iran. It's not known what the ship was carrying.
A Japanese ship carrying natural gas also made it out of the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese shipping giant MOL confirmed.
"The safety of the vessel and all crew members have been confirmed," MOL said. "We will continue to place the highest priority on ensuring the safety of our crew, cargo, and vessels as operations proceed."
Several ships that made the journey through the strait on Thursday hugged
"unusually close"
to the coast of Oman, according to maritime news and intelligence service Lloyd's List.
US President Donald Trump has said America could reopen the strait.
"With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE," he wrote on Truth Social. "IT WOULD BE A "GUSHER" FOR THE WORLD???"
About a fifth of the world's oil and liquid natural gas is transported through the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf countries.
But when the conflict began in late February, shipping was suspended, leaving about 200 vessels stranded in the surrounding waters according to Lloyd's List.
The dramatic slowdown in traffic through the strait has led to
skyrocketing global oil prices
, which in turn has
caused fuel prices to rise
and led to fears of higher inflation around the world.
Watch: Why is it so hard to pass through the Strait of Hormuz?
How the Hormuz closure could affect food, medicines and smartphones
While traffic is down about 95% compared to before the conflict, shipping through the narrow waterway has not stopped altogether.
About 100 vessels have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,
according to data analysed by BBC Verify in late March
, about five to six ships a day.
Roughly a third of those ships had links to Iran, Verify confirmed, while other vessels were linked to countries such as Pakistan and India.
France
Shipping industry

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- A Japanese ship carrying natural gas also made it out of the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese shipping giant MOL confirmed. "The safety of the vessel and all crew members have been confirmed," MOL said. "We will continue to place the highest priority on ensuring the safety of our crew, cargo, and vessels as operations proceed." Several ships that made the journey through the strait on Thursday hugged "unusually close" to the coast of Oman, according to maritime news and intelligence service Lloyd's List.
- US President Donald Trump has said America could reopen the strait. "With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE," he wrote on Truth Social. "IT WOULD BE A "GUSHER" FOR THE WORLD???" About a fifth of the world's oil and liquid natural gas is transported through the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf countries.
- How the Hormuz closure could affect food, medicines and smartphones While traffic is down about 95% compared to before the conflict, shipping through the narrow waterway has not stopped altogether.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers strait, hormuz, ship topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 473.