12:25 - 16.04.2026

---

April 16, Fineko/abc.az. On the third day of the U.S. naval blockade, two sanctioned vessels were able to enter the Persian Gulf with the use of an atypical route along the UAE coast.

ABC.AZ informs that gas carrier G Summer passed through a narrow channel between the islands of Larak and Qeshm, moving without cargo and disguising itself as a Chinese vessel. The Iraqi port of Khor al-Zubair was indicated as the destination.

After the gas carrier, the Hong Lu supertanker, which was also previously blacklisted by the U.S., passed by the same route. Both vessels were traveling in an unusual detour from Fujairah to Iran via the Gulf of Oman, probably to reduce the time in the patrol area of the U.S. Navy. A bulk carrier with food passed in front of them along the same route, and tanker Nobler left the Persian Gulf in the opposite direction.

Despite some ship movements, overall traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains minimal: in three days, not a single loaded Iranian tanker has set sail, which threatens the export of about 1.7 million b/d of oil. Experts admit that Tehran is deliberately avoiding escalation. The U.S. claims that there have been no breakthroughs in the blockade, while Iran claims the opposite.