French-owned container ship exits Hormuz in first since Iran war

A container ship signaling French ownership has exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war all but shuttered the vital waterway.

The CMA CGM Kribi sailed from waters off Dubai toward Iran on Thursday afternoon local time, signaling that its owner was French, according to ship-tracking data. It stuck close to the Iranian coast, moving through a channel between the islands of Qeshm and Larak, openly broadcasting its journey. On Friday morning, it signaled that it was off Muscat. Two people familiar with the situation also said the ship had crossed.

The Maltese-flagged vessel belongs to CMA CGM SA, the world’s third-largest container line, which is majority-owned by the billionaire Saadé family. The founder immigrated to France from war-torn Lebanon and started the line in 1978, in Marseille, with one leased vessel.

The company and the French ministry of foreign affairs declined to comment. France’s ministry of finance didn’t respond to a request for comment.