AFP, Paris

Four Iranian-flagged oil tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a first since April 15 and the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.

In data published on Thursday, the firm detected the passage of the Hilda I, the Amber, the Silvia 1, and the Happiness I, which were carrying a total of seven million barrels of oil.

They all loaded their cargo in mid-April on Kharg Island through which 90 percent of the Islamic Republic’s crude oil normally transits.

The ships crossed the strait on Monday with their AIS transponders turned off. The four oil tankers typically transport Iranian crude to an offshore area off the coasts of Malaysia and Singapore, where they transfer the cargo at sea to other tankers tasked with delivering it to the final customer, often in China.