This is an interesting development to say the least. There are reports going around that an oil tanker has made its way from Saudi Arabia to India via the Strait of Hormuz, the first such case since the US-Iran conflict started. The 'Shenlong Suezmax' is an oil tanker owned by Shenlong Shipping Ltd and managed by Dynacom Tanker Management Ltd, has reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz two days ago.
The tanker is said to have loaded crude oil from Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura port on 1 March before departing on 3 March. Maritime tracking data showed that the vessel was seen navigating near the Strait of Hormuz on 8 March before disappearing from system monitoring. That likely means that the AIS tracking was turned off i.e. "going dark".
As mentioned earlier, the latest speculation is that only "shadow fleets" are crossing the strait but mostly ones with ties to Iran or certain sanctioned entities. These are vessels operating with their AIS transponders turned off.
Reuters was also out with a headline earlier in the day noting that an Indian source revealed that Iran has allowed "Indian-flagged tankers" to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. I'm guessing the source was too excited to point to this case above.
However, just note that this could be a one-off case that managed to slip past Iran's monitors. That as Iranian sources were quick to refute the statement in saying that it "does not allow Indian tankers or any tankers" to pass through the strait currently.
If anything, I won't take this as being a green light that things are starting to normalise in the Strait of Hormuz. The fact that this vessel has had to turn off its AIS transponder and fly under the radar in hopes of not being caught says a lot about how things are still playing out. Sure, you can take the risk of doing that if you're brave enough to FAFO. But otherwise, I can't imagine a lot of commercial vessels and companies having that same appetite to do so.
