Only 12 ships passed through the strait during the first two days of the ceasefire agreement, reports the British maritime portal Lloyd's List. In February, before Iran blocked the waterway, about 100 vessels passed through it every day. This is according to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Experts warn that even after the trail is fully reopened, it could take weeks to clear the congestion. This situation will negatively impact global trade and energy markets.
Transit conditions remain unclear
Iran has not fully regulated access to the strait. Ships must follow designated routes and coordinate transit with Tehran. The Iranian authorities also plan to introduce fees for vessels crossing Hormuz.
The International Maritime Organization warned that attempts to set conditions or impose transit fees may violate international law – recalled “Gulf News”. IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez, in an interview with Bloomberg, said that Iranian conscription would set a dangerous precedent.
– We cannot allow a different (…) approach in which a given country introduces a separate mechanism that is inconsistent with international practice, and we do not even know whether it guarantees the safety of ships – he emphasized.
The head of ADNOC calls for the opening of the strait
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi's state oil company ADNOC, said on Thursday that 230 oil-laden tankers were waiting to pass through the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz must be reopened – fully, unconditionally and without restrictions. Energy security and global economic stability depend on it,” he wrote on the social media site.
