Mucahithan Avcioglu
17 April 2026•Update: 17 April 2026
- At least 2 of them, Neshat and Max Star, are listed under US sanctions records
Limited ship movements continued around the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours as of 0900GMT Friday, with 14 vessels appearing in shipping data compiled by Anadolu, although some movements indicated possible reversals before reaching US' blockade line.
A selected sample showed five west-to-east movements and nine east-to-west vessels.
West-to-east traffic included Ceci, Shalamar, Basel, MM Madrid and Shahin Salakh. All five were listed as in transit in the available shipping data.
East-to-west traffic included SDR Universe, Janki, Max Star, Kaiser, Fujisei Maru No., Rajtilak, Neshat, Sara and Pushpak. Of those, SDR Universe, Janki, Max Star, Kaiser and Rajtilak were listed as in transit, Neshat was shown as anchored, while Fujisei Maru No. and Sara were marked with undefined navigation status. Pushpak also appeared in the east-to-west movement sample.
The vessel mix again pointed to continued movement across multiple ship classes rather than only crude flows. Shipping data identified Shalamar as a crude oil tanker carrying crude/condensate. The Pakistani-flagged crude tanker sailed out into the Gulf of Oman late Thursday after loading around 450,000 barrels of crude at the UAE, becoming the first loaded crude carrier to exit the chokepoint since the US blockade began on Monday.
Also, Shahin Salakh was identified as a chemical/oil products tanker, Max Star as an LPG tanker, Rajtilak as a bitumen tanker carrying dirty petroleum, Ceci and Basel as bulk carriers, MM Madrid as a container ship, SDR Universe and Janki as bulk carriers, Kaiser, Fujisei Maru No., Neshat, Sara and Pushpak as general cargo ships.
Destination data showed Pakistan-bound, Gulf and South Asia-linked routes among the listed calls. Shalamar and MM Madrid were shown heading to Karachi, Pakistan.
Shahin Salakh was listed for Sohar, Oman. SDR Universe was headed for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, Janki and Kaiser for Umm Qasr in Iraq, Max Star for Sharjah, and Rajtilak for Mina Saqr in the UAE.
Ceci and Basel were both listed for Santos, Brazil, while destination fields for Fujisei Maru No., Sara and Pushpak were not clearly defined in the available data. Neshat was shown with Bandar Abbas as destination despite being listed as anchored.
Sanctions records from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control show that at least two of the 14 vessels in the selected sample are under US sanctions – Neshat, a general cargo vessel, and Max Star, an LPG tanker.
Draft readings suggested mixed cargo conditions across the sample. Shalamar was shown 80% loaded and marked laden, Rajtilak was listed at 100% draft and laden, while Basel and Max Star were marked ballast. Several others showed partial draft levels, indicating differing cargo states rather than a uniform outbound or inbound commercial pattern.
The data indicated that vessel traffic through and around Hormuz remained active in the last 24 hours as of 0900GMT, but the mix of in-transit, anchored and undefined statuses suggested that not all ships were moving through the corridor in a straightforward way.
US naval forces established the blockade along a line between Gwadar Bay, along the Iran-Pakistan border, and Oman’s Ras al Hadd, where heavy vessel traffic has persisted since the operation began.
On Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US forces have turned back 14 vessels in the first 72 hours of imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
“U.S. forces are focused, vigilant, and highly motivated as they execute a blockade on vessels attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“After 72 hours of enforcement, 14 vessels have turned around to comply with the blockade at the direction of American forces,” it added.
