News / Cosco ships abort Hormuz transit amid $2m passage demands

SeaSearcher

Two of Cosco Shipping Lines’ megamax container ships were apparently stopped from crossing the Strait of Hormuz today.

The 19,000 teu 2015-built ships, CSCL Arctic Ocean and CSCL Indian Ocean, had been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since armed conflict broke out between the US, Israel and Iran on 28 February.

Around 4.50am CET time today, the two partly loaded container ships had approached a gap between Larak and Qeshm islands, marking the entrance of the channel for Tehran-approved ships to depart the region, but CSCL Arctic Ocean and CSCL Indian Ocean then reversed course. Half an hour later, the two ships were sailing back to their anchorages in the Persian Gulf on the west side of the Strait of Hormoz.

Vessel-tracking data shows that both vessels, deployed to a Far East-Persian Gulf service, had broadcast AIS messages saying “Chinese Owners & Crew”. This tactic was originally used during the height of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, to avoid assaults from the Iran-backed rebels.

It is possible that the Cosco ships attempted to leave the area after Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in an X post that Iran would allow ships from friendly nations, including China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

However, being from a non-hostile nation is reportedly inadequate to be granted safe passage, with Tehran said to be asking for $2m for each transit.

The Cosco ships’ aborted attempt to depart the Persian Gulf occurred a day after Iran allowed 10 Pakistan-flagged tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The tankers are the first non‑Iranian ships allowed safe passage during the crisis, testing US influence and Iranian agreement to ease the blockade.​

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