CMA CGM Kribi Breaks the Hormuz Wall, but IRGC Drone Strike on MSC Vessel at Bahrain Port Signals the Strait Stays Dangerous

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A French-owned container ship completed the first confirmed Western European transit of the Strait of Hormuz on April 2, offering a narrow commercial signal in the world’s most disrupted shipping corridor, even as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed a drone strike on a second container vessel and ship traffic through the waterway remains down roughly 95% from pre-war levels.

The CMA CGM Kribi, a container vessel operated by French shipping giant CMA CGM and sailing under the Maltese flag, successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first known passage by a vessel linked to a Western European shipping major since Iran imposed severe transit restrictions following the US-Israel military campaign that began on February 28.

The 5,500-TEU Kribi sailed eastbound from waters off Dubai, with ship tracking data showing the vessel broadcasting its French ownership while transiting the Iranian coastline via an approved corridor between the islands of Qeshm and Larak. The ship had remained idle in the Gulf since early March, like many other non-Iranian vessels, after the conflict sharply curtailed commercial traffic.

Before crossing into Iran’s territorial waters, the vessel changed its AIS destination to read “Owner France,” signalling to Iranian authorities the nationality of its owner. Several Chinese vessels that transited earlier in the crisis used a similar tactic, broadcasting messages such as “Chinese owner and crew,” pointing to an emerging protocol for vessels seeking to assert neutrality as they approach the controlled corridor.

Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines also confirmed on Friday that a liquefied natural gas tanker it part-owns crossed the strait, in what appears to be the first such transit by an LNG carrier since the war began.

The diplomatic backdrop matters. French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly opposed the US proposal to use force to seize control of Hormuz, calling any such move impractical, dangerous, and unrealistic, warning it would expose Western forces to significant risk from Iranian ballistic missiles. Observers noted the timing: France’s refusal to join the US-Israeli offensive, paired with Macron’s call for a diplomatic resolution, appears to have created the political space for Iran to grant the Kribi safe passage.

CMA CGM did not issue a public statement on the transit. The carrier has been relying on multimodal land-bypass options via UAE ports since early March, a route that is inherently more expensive and logistically complex, and that led the carrier to impose emergency conflict surcharges on affected cargo.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck the MSC Ishyka, a Liberian-flagged container ship managed by MSC Shipmanagement Ltd, with a drone on April 4, claiming the vessel was ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping data showed the vessel was moored at Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Bahrain at the time, contradicting the IRGC’s stated location.

As of Sunday, no authorities or bystanders had corroborated the strike. UKMTO omitted the claimed drone attack on MSC Ishyka from its official daily list of confirmed shipping incidents in the Gulf. The IRGC described the vessel as owned by Israel, a claim that publicly available records do not support. MSC has no discernible links to Israel beyond providing shipping services to Israeli ports, and the Ishyka itself has not called at Israel in at least the past six months.

If confirmed, the attack would mark the first time the IRGC targeted a commercial vessel inside a sovereign Gulf state’s port facilities since hostilities began on February 28. Bahrain hosts a US naval headquarters, raising the strategic stakes beyond those of previous incidents in open water.

Ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz dropped from around 130 per day in February to just six in March, a collapse of approximately 95%, according to UNCTAD data.

The strait normally carries about 20 million barrels of oil and oil products per day, representing roughly 20% of global oil and LNG trade. Brent crude has crossed $140 per barrel, its highest level since 2008.

As of April 5, a dual-corridor system was in operation, combining an IRGC-controlled northern route with a newer pathway along the Omani coastline. Eleven vessels transited on April 5, with movement split between both corridors. Transit permissions remain differentiated by flag, ownership, cargo type, and geopolitical alignment, rather than open to all commercial traffic.

The incremental commercial impact of the Kribi’s crossing is minimal against the backdrop of a near-total shutdown. Market observers noted that the durability of any reopening will be determined by the volume and consistency of future crossings, not by a single data point.

Meanwhile, UNCTAD warned that global merchandise trade growth is projected to decelerate from 4.7% in 2025 to between 1.5% and 2.5% in 2026, with developing economies particularly exposed to higher shipping and insurance costs, rising fuel and food prices, and weaker currencies.

The UK convened 35 countries, excluding the United States, earlier this week to discuss how to reopen the waterway through diplomatic means. Iran and Oman are separately reported to be discussing joint arrangements for managing access to the strait.