French-owned ship passes through Strait of Hormuz

A French-owned ship has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, more than a month after the US-Israeli war with Iran effectively closed the vital transport route.

The Malta-flagged container ship owned by French company CMA CGM crossed the strait, media organisation BFM TV - which is owned by the shipping company - confirmed on Friday. CMA CGM declined to comment.

It is the first ship owned by a major Western European firm to go through the strait since the conflict began, shipping analysts Kpler confirmed.

While Iran has said "non-hostile vessels" can use the waterway, the ongoing conflict - in which several ships have been attacked - has halted normal transport activity.

Tracking data showed the French-owned ship passed close to the coast of Oman on the opposite side of the waterway to Iran. It is unclear what the ship was carrying.

A Japanese ship carrying natural gas also made it out of the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese shipping giant MOL confirmed.

"The safety of the vessel and all crew members have been confirmed," MOL said. "We will continue to place the highest priority on ensuring the safety of our crew, cargo, and vessels as operations proceed."

Several ships that made the journey through the strait on Thursday hugged "unusually close" to the coast of Oman, according to maritime news and intelligence service Lloyd's List.

US President Donald Trump has said the US could reopen the strait, but has expressed frustrations with allies for not providing assistance in doing so.

"With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE," he wrote on Truth Social. "IT WOULD BE A 'GUSHER' FOR THE WORLD???"

About a fifth of the world's oil and liquid natural gas is transported through the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf countries.

But when the conflict began in late February, shipping was suspended, leaving about 200 vessels stranded in the surrounding waters according to Lloyd's List.

While traffic is down about 95% compared to before the conflict, shipping through the narrow waterway has not stopped altogether.

Roughly a third of those ships had links to Iran, Verify confirmed, while other vessels were linked to countries such as Pakistan and India.