CMA CGM Kribi, a Malta-flagged container ship owned by France's CMA CGM (the world's third-largest container line), became the first Western European vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since 28 February. It paid Iran's toll in yuan. Before entering Iranian territorial waters, the ship changed its AIS designation to "Owner France", signalling nationality for the IRGC's sorting mechanism.1
Hours later, Mitsui OSK Lines' LNG carrier Sohar LNG crossed in ballast, the first Japanese-affiliated vessel to transit. Three Omani ships also passed through. The toll system charges $1 per barrel for oil tankers or roughly $2 million flat for container ships, payable in yuan or stablecoins.
France and Japan are nominal US allies. Both coordinated with Iranian maritime authorities. Both implicitly accepted Tehran's sovereignty claim over the strait, the precise claim Trump's 6 April energy deadline threatens force to break. Both paid in yuan, not dollars. The Philippines cut its own bilateral deal two days earlier. The coalition posture Washington has relied on since the blockade began is dissolving into bilateral licensing arrangements administered by Tehran.
