Bulk carrier claiming to be Chinese passes through Hormuz Strait

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A bulk carrier signalled it was Chinese-owned as it transited the Strait of Hormuz this week, highlighting how vessels are trying to ensure safe passage through the waterway during the war in the Middle East.

The Iron Maiden changed its destination signal to “CHINA OWNER” from “For Orders” early on March 5 as it made a break through the passage while hugging the Omani coastline, according to ship-tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler.

The vessel had been in the Persian Gulf since December 2025 delivering several shipments, Kpler data show.

Traffic through the chokepoint has

all but ground to a halt

as conflict region escalates, with the US, Israel and Iran pressing on with strikes and counterstrikes. Over the weekend, LPG tanker Bogazici broadcast that it was a Muslim-owned and Turkish-operated vessel, in what appeared to be an effort to avoid attacks as it passed through the strait. The ship is now near India.

China trades heavily with countries throughout the Persian Gulf, delivering bulk-commodity shipments to multiple ports in the waterway, while importing huge amounts of crude. Since the outbreak of the war on Feb 28, Beijing has called on all sides in the conflict to

ensure the safe passage of ships

.

A spokesperson for Cetus Maritime Shanghai, which operates the vessel, said the company does not comment on its operations, especially if doing so could jeopardise safety of the crew.

There was no e-mail or telephone number listed for the owner, Mi-Das Line SA, which shows an address linked to Japan’s Doun Kisen KK.

Earlier this week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the

strait was under wartime conditions

and vessels sailing through it “could be at risk from missiles or rogue drones”, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran has struck more than 10 oil tankers for ignoring warnings, it said. BLOOMBERG