The China Mail - Trade ships hit in Hormuz as Iran recloses strait

Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the Middle East war in protest at an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments.

A UK maritime security agency said Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) fired at a tanker, while security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech reported the force threatened to "destroy" an empty cruise ship that was fleeing the Gulf after Tehran on Friday announced a brief respite.

A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early Saturday during the brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and tracking platforms showed hardly any vessels crossing the waterway by the late afternoon.

- Tanker shot at -

IRGC gunboats fired on the tanker in the strait northeast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in an online statement, adding the vessel and crew were safe.

Vanguard identified the tanker as the India-flagged tanker Sanmar Herald.

It cited the captain as saying two IRGC patrol boats approached it with no radio contact and "shots were fired, resulting in damage to the bridge windows".

Vanguard said separately that the Malta-flagged cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 reported a splash nearby while crossing near Oman, on the far side of the strait from Iran.

"The Master confirmed VHF (radio) traffic from IRGC units stating 'we are carrying out operation, we will fire and destroy you,'" but no damage was reported, Vanguard said.

In a third incident, the UKMTO said that it also received a report of a container ship in the same area "being hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage to some of the containers" but no fire.

- Ships dash through -

Around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime, but traffic came to a near-standstill after the war erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated.

Tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but turned back near Iran's Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under the Iranian blockade of the passage.

Four French-owned container ships bearing the name of major shipping firm CMA CGM also made U-turns in the strait on Saturday around 1000 GMT after starting to exit, the platform indicated.

Besides the Mein Schiff 4, MarineTraffic indicated three other cruise ships -- reportedly empty -- had fled the strait.

- Iran tightens control -

Iran's central military command on Saturday appeared to reverse the decision to reopen the route, saying it would resume "strict management" of the strait because of the continued US naval counter-blockade.

Iran's closure of the strait has trapped hundreds of ships in the Gulf and driven up the price of oil and the costs of shipping goods, with captains avoiding the region for fear of attacks or mines.

The shipping industry had reacted guardedly to the reopening on Friday.

"BIMCO believes shipping companies should consider avoiding the area," Jakob Larsen, chief security officer of major shipping association BIMCO, said in a statement emailed to AFP, citing the risk of sea mines.

A.Kwok--ThChM