OMANI ships sailed out of the Middle East Gulf and were the first vessels in nearly three weeks to transit the chokepoint without sailing via the “Tehran-approved” corridor, reported senior risk and compliance analyst, Bridget Diakun.

Two VLCCs, both laden according to their Automatic Identification System, Dhalkut (IMO: 9888601) and Habrut (IMO: 9500730) and a liquefied natural gas carrier in ballast, Sohar LNG (IMO: 9210816) sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, tracking close to the Omani coastline.

All three vessels are operated by Omani companies and are indicating they are heading to ports in Oman.

Tanker stocks bounce back amid war, reapproaching multiyear highs

The wartime worry on tanker stocks was that too much cargo would be shut in by the Strait of Hormuz closure. This would leave too many ships chasing too few cargoes, pushing down rates as surging oil prices destroyed demand, reported senior maritime reporter, Greg Miller.

Tanker stocks hit multiyear or multidecade highs in the runup to the Middle East war, then sank back as negative sentiment on expected fallout took hold.

A month into the war, the fallout scenario has yet to materialise, and tanker shares are headed back up again.

China consolidates shipbuilding supremacy as global fleet renewal gathers pace

China captured the bulk of newbuilding orders in 2025, riding a surge in containership demand that took off during the second quarter, reported markets editor, Rob Willmington.

This year looks no different, as rivals in South Korea and Japan have not been able to keep up. Constrained by labour shortages, limited room to expand, and delivery slots already booked out for years, their ability to compete has been capped at exactly the wrong moment as demand for new ships remains elevated.

China, by contrast, has moved decisively.

Previously idled shipyard capacity has been reactivated, and existing facilities have scaled up production to meet demand not just for containerships, but also for a resurgent crude tanker market. The result is that China is set to maintain its dominance in global ship contracting throughout 2026.

Cosco boxships transit Hormuz on second attempt as Iran widens approved nation list

Two Cosco Shipping ultra-large containerships secured Iranian clearance to transit the Strait of Hormuz on their second attempt, signalling what may be a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran over passage rights through the contested chokepoint, reported APAC editor, Cichen Shen.

The 19,000 teu CSCL Arctic Ocean (IMO: 9695169) and 19,100 teu CSCL Indian Ocean (IMO: 9695157) passed Iran’s Larak Island — the checkpoint used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to control access to the strait — at approximately 0800 hrs GMT on Sunday, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel tracking data.

They were the first vessels owned and operated by the Chinese state-owned shipping giant to be tracked successfully exiting the Middle East Gulf since Iran asserted control over Hormuz.

Subtle rise in non-Iranian trade through Hormuz

A modest uptick in non‑Iranian trade through the Strait of Hormuz is lifting overall transit numbers, but analysts caution that the situation could quickly change, reported Bridget Diakun and maritime risk analyst Tomer Raanan.

An estimated 48 cargo-carrying vessels over 10,000 dwt transited the besieged chokepoint last week, up from 34 the week before.

Despite the uptick, however, transit levels remain over 90% below normal levels.

The share of transits by vessels that are not linked to Iran, either through trade or ownership, rose to 21%.