Six cruise ships clear Strait of Hormuz during brief reopening

Описание: A flotilla of cruise ships stranded in Gulf ports since late February has now cleared the Strait of Hormuz, taking advantage of a brief reopening of the waterway before tighter controls returned.

According to MarineTraffic data, Celestyal Discovery was first through, crossing the strait at 14:30 UTC on 17 April after departing Port Rashid, Dubai, earlier that day. Four more ships followed on 18 April within less than an hour, led by Celestyal Journey at 10:54 UTC, followed by MSC Euribia at 11:11 UTC, Mein Schiff 5 at 11:44 UTC, and Mein Schiff 4 at 11:46 UTC. A sixth vessel, Aroya, crossed on 19 April at 19:15 UTC, extending departures from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Dammam.

The crossings took place during a narrow window after Iran said the strait was open to commercial traffic during the ceasefire, though access has since tightened again.