On March 22, Iran announced that it allowed a cargo ship to pass, stating that all crew members were of Chinese nationality!
The "New Voyager" container ship was able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after being verified by Iran. During its voyage, the ship actively broadcasted the information "all crew members are of Chinese nationality" through the Automatic Identification System, and safely navigated along the southern coastline of Iran.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has been essentially paralyzed. A special meeting of the International Maritime Organization on March 18 revealed that at least 7 sailors had died in recent attacks on merchant ships, and about 20,000 sailors were stranded at sea, facing high risks and immense mental pressure.
On March 22, Iranian officials outlined the principles for passage: vessels from aggressor nations do not meet the conditions for normal and non-hostile passage; non-hostile vessels from other nations or affiliated with them can safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz after coordinating with Iranian authorities, as long as they have not participated in or cooperated with aggressive actions against Iran and comply with the safety regulations and measures announced by Iran.
On the same day, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized on social media platform X: "Without trade freedom, there is no navigation freedom." The Automatic Identification System is usually used to announce technical information such as vessel name, location, and heading, while actively marking the nationality of the crew is considered an unconventional operation.
Brother Knife believes that this practice effectively conveys a "non-hostile" identity to Iran. Meanwhile, the verification and release by Iran imply that the vessel meets the passage conditions defined by Iran. The vessel navigated along the southern coastline of Iran, rather than choosing a regular route in international waters, indicating that this passage was completed under the coordination and guidance of Iran.