The Very Large Crude Carrier Yuan Hua Hu was past Iran’s Larak Island and was on the eastern side of the strait and heading ​south, the data showed.

If successful, the voyage would mark ​the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker ⁠through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Israeli war ​with Iran on February 28, based on available ship-tracking data.

Iran has ​appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied ​natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge ​of the matter.

Other countries are exploring similar deals, sources said, in a move ‌that ⁠could normalise Tehran’s control of the waterway on a more permanent basis.

The Chinese VLCC is owned and operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation’s Hainan unit and chartered by Unipec, the trading ​arm of Chinese ​state oil major ⁠Sinopec.

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation and Sinopec did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The Yuan Hua ​Hu loaded nearly 2 million barrels of Basrah ​Medium ⁠crude at Iraq’s Basrah terminal in early March and has remained stranded inside the Gulf since then, according to the tracking data. ⁠It ​is headed to Asia.

China-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake ​and He Rong Hai exited the Strait of Hormuz on April 11.