Normal shipping through Hormuz unlikely until mines cleared: Report

Around 80 mines still need to be cleared from the main shipping channel in the Strait of Hormuz, making a return to normal maritime traffic unlikely in the near term, the Guardian reported Friday, citing tanker owner trade body Intertanko.

Several vessels began exiting the Gulf through the strategic chokepoint Thursday after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities and restoring commercial traffic through the strait.

However, Phil Belcher, marine director at Intertanko, told the Guardian that the standard route between Iran and Oman remains unsafe.

“The main route … through the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, that’s closed, that’s dangerous,” Belcher said.

“The latest figure we had was that there’s 80 mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It’s an enormous amount and it’s going to take some time to clear,” he added.

The Strait of Hormuz normally handles about one-fifth of global oil shipments and around 130 vessel transits a day.

Belcher said ships are currently using a southern route close to Oman's coastline, but warned that the alternative passage carries increased risks of grounding and collisions due to narrow waterways and heavy congestion.

He compared the situation to a highway with its middle lanes closed, forcing traffic onto the hard shoulder.

The situation has also been complicated by reported signal jamming during the conflict, which disrupted electronic navigation and positioning systems used by vessels in the region, the report said.

A grounding, collision or sinking in the strait could again disrupt global trade, with shipping companies still mindful of the 2021 blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given container ship.

Nearly 600 vessels are believed to remain in the Gulf after being anchored there since February, meaning the backlog is expected to take time to clear, according to the Guardian.

Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of maritime data provider Lloyd's List, told the newspaper that shipping through the strait may not return to normal this year.

The shipping industry is also monitoring Iran's proposal to impose fees on vessels crossing the strait after a 60-day toll-free period included in the US-Iran memorandum expires.

A spokesperson for German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd told the Guardian that charging tolls in international waters would be “fundamentally wrong,” arguing that the Strait of Hormuz differs from infrastructure-based routes such as the Suez and Panama canals.

Industry officials fear any fees imposed in Hormuz could set a precedent for other strategic maritime chokepoints, including the Strait of Malacca and the Taiwan Strait.