French container ship makes rare Hormuz crossing
A French-owned container ship has made a rare crossing through the Strait of Hormuz, reappearing in the Arabian Sea after disappearing from tracking systems in the Persian Gulf, according to ship-tracking data, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.
The CMA CGM Saigon was last detected on Tuesday off Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates before resurfacing late Wednesday off the coast of Oman.
The vessel was transmitting Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its stated destination.
The interruption in tracking signals suggests the ship passed through the strait with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched off, amid intensified signal jamming in the region.
The passage makes the CMA CGM Saigon one of the few Western Europe-linked vessels to transit the strait unharmed since the outbreak of the Iran–US war.
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, has seen a sharp decline in Western-linked commercial traffic since the conflict began, with many operators rerouting ships or avoiding the Gulf due to security concerns.
The development came days after Iran announced tighter controls over Hormuz traffic and expanded its declared operational zone to include two major UAE ports on the Gulf of Oman.
On Tuesday, the CMA CGM San Antonio, another vessel owned by the French shipping company, was attacked while transiting the strait, resulting in injured crew members and damage to the ship.
By Nijat Babayev
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