Two Chinese Container Ships Attempt Hormuz Exit Before U-Turning

Two large container ships linked to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping Corp. attempted to exit the Persian Gulf on Friday through the Strait of Hormuz, before making an abrupt U-turn near Iran and motoring back.

The CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean both changed their signaling to Chinese owner and crew, and traveled northeast from waters off Dubai before turning back near Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands near the narrow opening of the strait, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.