Singapore, May 13 (Reuters) - A Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to ship-tracking data from the London Exchanges Group and Kpler.

The data indicated that the giant tanker (Yuan Hua Hu) passed off the Iranian island of Larak, which is on the eastern side of the strait, heading south.

Based on available ship tracking data, if the tanker does indeed pass through, this would be the third known passage of a Chinese oil tanker through the strait since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.

Sources familiar with the matter said that Iran appears to have strengthened its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, having struck deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region.

Sources said other countries are exploring ways to strike similar deals, in a move that could solidify Tehran’s control over the waterway and normalize it on a more sustainable basis.

The giant Chinese tanker is owned and operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation’s Hainan unit, while the charterer is China Unipec Oil Trading, the trading arm of China’s state-owned Sinopec.

Neither company has yet responded to requests for comment.

Tracking data showed that the tanker loaded about two million barrels of Basra Medium crude from Iraq’s Basra port in early March, and had been stranded in the Gulf since then before heading to Asia.

The two Chinese-flagged supertankers, Cospiral Lake and He Rong Hai, crossed the strait on April 11.