China testing Trump’s Hormuz blockade?

A blacklisted tanker linked to China transited the Strait of Hormuz today, despite a U.S. blockade on the crucial choke point, lseg shipping data shows. The Rich Starry, owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co. Ltd., was previously sanctioned by the U.S. for helping Iran circumvent energy sanctions. The tanker loaded 250,000 barrels of methanol at the United Arab Emirates’ Hamriyah Port over the weekend. It aborted an attempt to transit Hormuz yesterday, just as U.S. President Donald Trump’s blockade on the strait went into effect. This morning, the vessel resumed its voyage, successfully passed, and is now in the Gulf of Oman, bearing toward China. As the blockade’s aim is to dry up the revenue streams of the Iranian mullahs, it is likely that vessels calling at the U.A.E. and other non-Iranian ports may not be subject to it. Nevertheless, the decision to allow a blacklisted tanker to pass suggests America lacks the will to further use its power.