An Iraq-bound supertanker that aborted a weekend attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf is now sailing through the waterway, a transit that would make it the first crude carrier to head west through the conduit since a US blockade took effect on Monday.
A US armada of warships, which is aiming to pressure Iran by curbing its oil exports, has been impeding traffic outside the strait in the Gulf of Oman and appears to have forced some carriers to U-turn back toward the Persian Gulf, including the US-sanctioned Rich Starry. Iran has is now considering a short-term pause on shipments to avoid testing the blockade and scuppering talks.
The Agios Fanourios I, which is not blacklisted and is not heading to Iran, has made its way through the narrow waterway along a Tehran-approved route between the islands of Qeshm and Larak, ship-tracking data show. The very-large crude carrier is broadcasting its destination as Iraq’s Basrah, to pick up a cargo meant for Vietnam, according to the data.
Agios Fanourios I’s first attempt to head back into the Persian Gulf was cut short on Sunday as talks between the US and Iran collapsed. It U-turned before the chokepoint.
Shipowners, energy traders and investors have been closely monitoring transits through the strait for an indication of exactly how Tehran and Washington are exercising control over traffic in one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors. On Tuesday, the US said six merchant vessels complied with instructions from its forces to turn around and re-enter an Iranian port during the first day of its blockade.
A call and an email sent outside regular hours to Agios Fanourios I’s manager, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, as shown on database Equasis, wasn’t immediately answered.
Traffic through the chokepoint — at a near-halt since the US and Israel began strikes against Iran at the end of February — had ticked up last weekend, with three oil supertankers having made it through, laden with cargo. But a collapse in peace talks and then threats of a blockade have prompted shipowners to say they will avoid transits until the rules of engagement are clear.
The Rich Starry, still heading back through the strait, is currently signaling that it’s waiting for orders, often a sign that it has no clear port of call. Ship-tracking data shows that it is still fully laden with the same cargo it exited the Persian Gulf with, though Bloomberg News couldn’t immediately determine the nature of the shipment.
Another empty, US-sanctioned VLCC, Alicia, is sailing alongside it. That supertanker, sanctioned last year under its former name Montrose over its links to the Iranian oil trade, is currently between Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands. It had briefly indicated that it was sailing to Iraq’s Basrah, but has since switched to indicate that it’s waiting for orders.
Rich Starry is owned by Full Star Shipping Ltd., which shares the same contact details as Shanghai Xuanrun Shpg. Co. Ltd. A call made to Shanghai Xuanrun did not get through, while the company didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. The Shanghai-based entity is also sanctioned by the US State Department.
A call made to Alicia’s owner and manager, Placencia Services Inc., wasn’t answered.
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Published on April 15, 2026