PUBLISHED ONApril 06, 2026 2:03 PMBYSean LerA Malaysia-bound tanker has safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Embassy of Iran in Malaysia.
The announcement was made by the embassy in a post on X at about 5.50pm on Monday (April 6).
"We had said that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not forget his friends. The first Malaysian ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz," the post, which was written in English and Malay reads.
The post was accompanied by an image of a crude oil tanker bearing the name Ridgebury John Zipser on its hull.
Checks by AsiaOne revealed that the tanker is sailing under the flag of Panama, not Malaysia.
However, the tanker — built in 2009 — and since renamed Ocean Thunder, has its next port of call listed as Pengerang in Malaysia. It is expected to arrive on April 17.
Information based on maritime automatic identification system data presented on ship tracking platform VesselFinder indicates that the Hormuz transit was completed at about 5.15pm on Sunday.
Reuters reported that the tanker, loaded with about one million barrels of Iraqi crude on March 2, is chartered by Petco, a unit of Malaysian state energy company Petronas.
The wire agency also reported that the Ocean Thunder is among seven Malaysia-linked vessels, cleared by Iran, to transit the strait.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in March that Iran would allow Malaysian vessels to pass through the strait after holding talks with Iranian officials.
Other than the Ocean Thunder, three Omani-operated tankers, a French-owned container ship and a Japanese-owned gas carrier have also crossed the Strait of Hormuz since April 3.
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