A French-owned container ship crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a possible sign that Iran may no longer view France as a hostile nation after President Emmanuel Macron criticised US President Donald Trump’s stance on the conflict.
The Malta-flagged Kribi, owned by French shipping group CMA CGM, crossed the strategic waterway on April 2, according to MarineTraffic vessel tracking data. It is the first French-owned vessel to make the passage since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began at the end of February.
The crossing came shortly after Macron publicly broke with Trump over the war and rejected any military attempt to reopen the Strait.
Speaking during a visit to South Korea, Macron said proposals, “sometimes expressed by the United States”, to militarily secure the strategic waterway were not viable.
“It is unrealistic because it would take an inordinate amount of time and would expose anyone crossing the strait to coastal threats,” he said, pointing to risks from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and missile capabilities.
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He added that any resolution required “a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations” with Iran, according to AFP.
Macron also criticised Trump’s shifting messaging on the conflict. “You have to be serious. When you want to be serious, you don't say the opposite every day of what you said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn't talk every day.”
It was not immediately clear how the vessel secured safe passage. However, LSEG shipping data showed the ship changed its destination on Thursday to “Owner France” before crossing Iranian territorial waters, signalling to Iranian authorities the nationality of its owner.
The vessel had originally been bound for Pointe-Noire in the Republic of the Congo. Tracking data later showed it sailing south along the coast of Oman.
CMA CGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. France’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
Before the war led to the effective closure of the Strait, the route carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. The waterway remains severely disrupted amid the wider Middle East conflict.
Since the start of US-led military operations, Trump has made varying statements on strategy, allies and escalation, drawing scrutiny both domestically and internationally.
