By Costas Paris

Two large Chinese-operated crude carriers went off course as they tried to enter the Strait of Hormuz, after their navigation systems were jammed as a result of military operations in Iran, according to shipping officials and maritime tracking data.

Coswisdom Lake, run by China's Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, and South Loyalty owned by Sinokor Merchant Marine, turned around as they sailed south of the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas over the weekend. Later, the Coswisdom Lake made another U-turn and is now heading back into Hormuz according to MarineTraffic data.

A Cosco official said the incident was being probed and the crew of the Coswisdom Lake was safe. Sionokor didn't return calls for comment. Both vessels are very large crude carriers, which can move up to two million barrels of crude.

Beijing called on the international community to maintain stability in the critical shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf, and said it was in touch with Iran about the ongoing conflict.

Any disruption at the strait could send oil prices soaring. The waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf connects it to the Indian Ocean.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 23, 2025 07:34 ET (11:34 GMT)

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