A Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months due to the US-Iran war, LSEG and Kpler ship-tracking data showed.
The Very Large Crude Carrier Yuan Hua Hu is now anchored off the Gulf of Oman, near where the US Navy has set up a blockade on Iranian vessels, LSEG data showed.
The crossing comes as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet over the next two days, and after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Beijing last week.
The voyage marks the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, based on ship-tracking data.
Iran tightens its grip on the strait
Iran has appeared to tighten its control over the strait in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
Other countries are exploring similar deals, sources said, in a move that could help entrench Tehran's control of the waterway.
The Chinese VLCC is owned and operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation's 600026.SS Hainan unit and chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese state oil major Sinopec 600028.SS.
COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation and Sinopec did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
The Yuan Hua Hu loaded nearly 2 million barrels of Basrah Medium crude at Iraq's Basrah terminal in early March and has remained stranded inside the Gulf until now, according to the tracking data. It is bound for Asia.
Chinese-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai exited the Strait of Hormuz on April 11.
A vehicle carrier, Xiang Jiang Kou, also sailed through the strait in the past 12 hours and broadcast a message on its AIS public transponder saying "Chinese vessel and crew", according to satellite analysis from data analytics specialists SynMax and separate data on the MarineTraffic platform. The vessel was operated by a Singapore-registered group Xin Yin Chuang Yuan 6 Tiajin.
Trump said he does not need China's help with Iran
Trump has said he does not expect to need China's help to end the war in Iran and ease Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, in remarks made before he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.
Speaking before departing from Washington, Trump played down the role China could have in resolving the conflict, in which both sides have blocked maritime traffic through a waterway that normally carries one-fifth of the world's oil supplies.
"I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise," he told reporters.
Iranian officials have signaled they see that control as a long-term strategic goal. An army spokesperson said supervision of the waterway could generate revenue amounting to twice Iran's oil income, while strengthening its foreign policy leverage.
"After this war ends, there will be no place for retreat," the spokesperson said, according to comments carried by ISNA news agency.
More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, US and Iranian demands to end the war remain far apart.
Washington has called for Tehran to scrap its nuclear program and lift its chokehold on the strait, while Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the US blockade, and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed those positions as "garbage."