COSCO ships successfully transit Strait of Hormuz

COSCO shipping just managed its first confirmed transit of the Strait of Hormuz in a month.

On March 30, two COSCO container carriers – the CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean – exited the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz (Marine Traffic, Caiwen).

• The same two COSCO vessels previously tried to transit the Strait on March 27, but chucked a dramatic U-turn after Iran's military (IRGC) denied them permission (Lloyd's List).

Don't forget: COSCO announced that it would resume accepting bookings to Middle East destinations last week – but then clarified it expected to use a multi-modal workaround rather than transiting the Strait.

• Holy whiplash, Batman!

What everyone's wondering: Does this mean COSCO will resume normal inbound and outbound transits of the Strait?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

• On the one hand, Iran insists the Strait is open for navigation by "friendly countries" including China – and has established a "de facto tollbooth regime" allowing vessels to pay for access to an IRGC-controlled corridor in Iranian territorial waters (Lloyd's List).
• On the other, COSCO's vessels were empty and had been stuck in the Gulf since late February – meaning both the crew and the company had less to lose than a fully loaded inbound vessel would.

What to watch: If COSCO restarts inbound transits, we'll know their calculus has shifted.