China Tankers Join Line to Test Hormuz Exit and Iran Truce

Two fully laden Chinese oil tankers are waiting near the Strait of Hormuz with a third on its way, putting them in a position to become the first such vessels to leave the Persian Gulf under a day-old US-Iran ceasefire, even as shipowners scrutinize the details of the truce.

The Cospearl Lake, a very-large crude carrier linked to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping Corp., and He Rong Hai, owned by a smaller entity, appeared to be traveling east early on Thursday morning at near-top speeds, according to ship-tracking data, before coming to a virtual halt. Another Cosco-linked VLCC, the Yuan Hua Hu, began its eastward journey a few hours later.