* Two container ships turned back into Gulf

* Operator COSCO recently resumed taking Gulf bookings

* Iran has given assurances for some countries

* Iran's own exports, imports largely unfettered

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Two Chinese container ships

turned backed after trying to exit the Gulf via the Strait of

Hormuz on Friday, ship-tracking data showed, despite assurances

from Iran that Chinese vessels could pass.

The operator, China's COSCO, had said in a March 25 client

advisory that it had resumed bookings for general cargo

containers for shipments from Asia to the United Arab Emirates,

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

The CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, both Hong Kong

flagged, have been stuck in the Gulf since the U.S.-Israeli war

with Iran began on Feb. 28.

They attempted to pass through the strait at 0350 GMT on

Friday but then turned back, analysis from the Kpler data

platform showed.

While this was the first crossing attempted by a major

shipping group since the start of the war, Friday's incident

showed "safe passage could not be guaranteed", Kpler analyst

Rebecca Gerdes said.

On Wednesday, Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said

in a Tweet that Iran "permitted passage through the Strait of

Hormuz for friendly nations including China, Russia, India,

Iraq, and Pakistan".

The two vessels both broadcast messages on their AIS

ship-tracking systems stating they had Chinese owners and crews,

data on the LSEG platform showed on Friday.

Shanghai-based parent company COSCO Shipping was not

immediately available for comment.

Iran has launched attacks on Gulf shipping and threatened

more, stranding hundreds of vessels and 20,000 seafarers inside

the Gulf. Energy exports including crude oil from Saudi Arabia

and liquefied natural gas from Qatar have been effectively

halted.

GOODWILL GESTURE

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran was

letting 10 ​oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as an

‌apparent goodwill gesture in negotiations.

There have been no details about these tankers or if any had

sailed through the strait since Trump's comment.

A trickle of other vessels have departed in recent days,

including Indian-flagged tankers carrying liquefied petroleum

gas for cooking.

A Thai oil tanker passed through the strait following

diplomatic coordination with Iran, a Thai official and the oil

firm that owns the vessel said on Wednesday.

Traffic in the past week has consisted mainly of Iranian oil

tankers departing and bulk carriers arriving in Iran with

cargoes of grain and other commodities, according to data from

maritime specialists Lloyd's List Intelligence and Reuters

analysis.

Iran has repeatedly stated that some may pass but asserted

that Tehran would determine which vessels would do so and adding

that those linked to the U.S. or Israel or their allies would be

blocked.

"Aggressor parties - namely, the United States and the

Israeli regime - as well as other participants in the

aggression, do not qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage,"

Iran said in a circular sent on March 24 to member countries of

UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organization.

Initiating peace talks would be "conducive to restoring

normal navigation", through Hormuz, Chinese Foreign Minister

Wang Yi said during a call with his Pakistani counterpart on

Friday.