A US-sanctioned tanker with links to China, the Rich Starry, has transited the Strait of Hormuz, despite the US blockade of the waterway. According to the respected maritime news and intelligence agency Lloydslist, the Rich Starry is falsely registered in Malawi, but is Chinese owned and carrying a Chinese crew. It is subject to US sanctions for carrying Iranian goods. It is not known what the vessel is currently transporting.

Having been anchored off the UAE, the Rich Starry is not technically in breach of the blockade, but the incident has raised fears of a potential confrontation between the US and China in the region. Other vessels are reported to be waiting to transit the Strait, despite the US blockade.

The decision to impose a blockade on Iranian ports in the vicinity of the Strait was announced by the US president, Donald Trump, following the breakdown of US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 11. Trump’s announcement was clarified by a statement on April 12 from US Central Command, which stipulated that the operation would prevent ships entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas while not impeding vessels transiting the Strait to and from non‑Iranian ports.

Trump also announced that: “I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.” It remains unclear as to........

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