Two large COSCO containerships, the CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean, were granted passage through the Strait of Hormuz on 30 March. The vessels had been stuck in the region for more than a month after regional tensions escalated, during which they were repeatedly denied passage and turned back.
Both vessels have a capacity of over 19,000 TEU and are currently bound for Port Klang, Malaysia. The vessels are part of COSCO’s MEX service, which connects Gulf ports such as Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Jebel Ali in the UAE.
The ships last attempted to cross the strait on 27 March but were denied passage and forced to make a U-turn. These two vessels are a part of around 130 vessels that have been trapped in the region since late February.
Iran has announced the conditional opening of the Strait of Hormuz for countries not involved in aggression against it. Vessels are required to coordinate with Iranian authorities and undergo security checks.
Soon after Iran’s announcement, COSCO resumed Asia-Gulf bookings to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, signalling some normalization and an easing of maritime traffic in the region.
