Hormuz Shutdown Pushes Global Shipping to Breaking Point<\/a><\/p>\nThe VLCC Idemitsu Maru, carrying roughly 2 million barrels of Saudi crude bound for Japan, successfully exited the Persian Gulf on Tuesday. The vessel followed a tightly controlled route along Iran\u2019s coastline, passing near Qeshm Island and Larak Island.<\/p>\n
Its voyage stands out. It is the only non-Iran-linked supertanker to leave the Gulf in the past 10 days\u2014and the first Japan-connected tanker to make the crossing since traffic effectively collapsed in late February.<\/p>\n
Traffic at a Standstill<\/p>\n
The strategic chokepoint, which typically handles about 20% of global oil flows along with significant LNG volumes, remains largely shut. Iran\u2019s restrictions on the waterway, combined with a sweeping U.S. naval blockade targeting Iranian shipping, have reduced vessel movements to a trickle.<\/p>\n
Iranian exports have been hit especially hard. With ships unable to move freely, Tehran is increasingly relying on older tankers to store crude that cannot be shipped out. At the same time, U.S. naval forces are confining much of Iran-linked traffic to the Gulf and nearby waters, further tightening the squeeze.<\/p>\n
Standoff Deepens<\/p>\n
Diplomatic efforts to ease tensions continue, but there is little sign of a breakthrough. Washington is reportedly preparing for a prolonged standoff, while Tehran has made it clear it will not reopen the strait or return to talks unless U.S. maritime restrictions are lifted.<\/p>\n
Minimal Ship Activity<\/p>\n
Beyond the single VLCC transit, activity has been \u043a\u0440\u0430\u0439\u043d\u0435 limited. Since Tuesday, only a handful of vessels\u2014including bulk carriers, a chemical tanker, an LPG carrier, and one container ship\u2014have exited the Gulf. A small number of inbound bulk carriers carrying food supplies to Iran were also recorded.<\/p>\n
Several Iran-linked ships that left the region in recent days have not progressed beyond the Gulf of Oman, raising uncertainty over whether they are awaiting safer conditions or making short regional stops.<\/p>\n
Restricted Routes, Limited Visibility<\/p>\n
Ships still moving through Hormuz are being funneled into a narrow northern corridor under Iranian oversight. Meanwhile, tracking the true level of activity remains difficult.<\/p>\n
Many vessels\u2014particularly those tied to Iran\u2014are switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals to avoid detection. This \u201cdark shipping\u201d practice means actual transit numbers may be higher than observed, with vessels only reappearing once they are far from the high-risk zone, often near the Strait of Malacca.<\/p>\n
Outlook Uncertain<\/p>\n
With both sides holding firm and shipping risks still elevated, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed for most international traffic. For global energy markets and supply chains, a return to normal operations still looks distant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains almost frozen, with only a single major oil tanker completing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[11893,3459,102,101,2139,11894],"class_list":{"0":"post-90694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-strait-of-hormuz","8":"tag-global-logistics","9":"tag-global-trade","10":"tag-hormuz","11":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","12":"tag-supply-chain","13":"tag-supply-chain-management"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116492843288142673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}