Greek shipowner George Prokopiou’s first tanker appears to have cleared the Strait of Hormuz after loading crude in the Gulf, in one of the earliest such passages by a major vessel since traffic through the waterway slumped amid rising regional tension.

The Shenlong, operated by Dynacom Tankers Management, is carrying about 1 million barrels of Saudi crude, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The vessel switched off its AIS on March 4 while sailing through the Persian Gulf towards Hormuz. Its signal reappeared on Monday morning off India’s coast, indicating it had completed the transit.

The voyage is being closely watched by shipping and energy markets, as it comes at a time when commercial traffic through the strategic passage remains heavily disrupted.

According to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply in the opening days of March.

More than 560 ships passed through the waterway in the first five days of February, compared with just 46 in the same period of March, marking a drop of about 91 per cent.

However, Prokopiou appears to be pressing ahead. The Shenlong is the first of five tankers linked to the Greek shipowner reported to be heading through the area, while two more Dynacom vessels are said to be on the same route.

The safe movement of large tankers is seen as critical to keeping oil flows from the Gulf moving normally into international markets.

Still, despite the Shenlong’s passage, the broader security picture has shown little sign of easing, with most shipowners still reluctant to send vessels through one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.