France, April 3 -- The Malta-flagged Kribi, owned by French shipping group CMA CGM, passed through the strait on Thursday, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by the news agencies AFP and Reuters.

It appears to be the first known transit by a major European shipping group since early March.

Iran sharply limited access to the strait after US-Israeli strikes on 28 February, triggering retaliation and disrupting maritime traffic across the region.

Before the conflict, about 20 percent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the narrow waterway.

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Data showed the Kribi exited the Gulf and was sailing off Mu...