The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it acted in response to U.S. strikes on an Iranian vessel.

Japanese shipowners are typically conservative, and few Japan-linked vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Tehran effectively closed off the waterway.

Some of the ships that have crossed belong to companies that hadn’t transited Hormuz since the war began.

Control over the corridor is central to tortuous negotiations between the U.S. and Iran aimed at ending the conflict.

Both Iran and the U.S. have said their talks, via mediators such as Pakistan and Qatar, are making progress.

The outsized profits on offer for getting cargo out are drawing wide-ranging interest — from established players in the oil market to relative newcomers.

The Idemitsu Maru, a very large crude carrier that passed through the waterway in late April, could dock as soon as May 25.

Tehran has signaled it will keep control over Hormuz even after the war, to deter future attacks from the U.S. and Israel.

State-owned Shipping Corp. of India is ready to go back to the Persian Gulf once it has approval from the Indian Navy.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Director Shantanu Mukherjee said that this would represent one of the weakest growth rates so far this century.