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After Trump's claim of a "present," data show most ships getting through Strait of Hormuz are linked to Iran

By
Joanne Stocker
Verification producer
Joanne Stocker is a verification producer for CBS News Confirmed. She was previously chief editor of Kurdistan 24 English and managing editor at The Defense Post. She has combined open-source investigation methods with on-the-ground reporting to cover conflict, terrorism, and misinformation for over 15 years.
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Joanne Stocker

/ CBS News

A majority of the vessels that have passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran have ties to the Iranian regime, according to a new analysis from Lloyd's List Intelligence. The information comes after President Trump's assertion last week that Tehran gave him the "present" of allowing eight oil tankers through the key waterway.

Since March 1, a day after the U.S. and Israel launched their joint attacks on Iran, 71% of all ships that have managed to transit the strait are either owned by Iran, coming or going from Iranian ports, or part of the so-called shadow fleet linked to Iranian oil shipments, the maritime data company said Wednesday. 

Even among ships that are compliant with sanctions, such as Greek bulk carrier cargo ships that have transited the strait, most have some ties to Iran. 

Shadow fleet vessels have accounted for 88% of all transits over the last week, an increase from 83% the week before, the Lloyd's data show.

Just 11 oil tankers have transited the strait in either direction over the last week, according to tracking data from the Joint Maritime Information Center, an international military partnership among 47 nations, including the U.S. 

Chinese ships have accounted for only 10% of transits despite seemingly warmer relations between Tehran and Beijing throughout the war. On Monday, two ultra-large container ships owned by China's largest shipping company, COSCO, managed to cross the strait after initially being turned back by Iranian forces. A third Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Lotus Rising, which was also turned back from the strait last week, appeared to pass close to Iran's Larak Island on Wednesday. 

Lloyd's analysts have said the regime is using the island, right in the center of the Strait of Hormuz, like a "toll booth" to collect fees from passing vessels. 

Despite Mr. Trump's assertion that Iran was allowing Pakistan-flagged oil tankers to sail through the strait as a "present" to the U.S., and Pakistan's separate that it concluded a bilateral deal with Tehran to allow two ships to pass per day for 10 days, there has been no increase in Pakistan-flagged ships through the strait, according to data from the MarineTraffic website.

Iran has said repeatedly that the Strait of Hormuz is closed only to vessels belonging to or linked to the U.S. and Israel.

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