FT today9 Apr 2026 12:28
A ceasefire meant to reopen one of the world’s busiest waterways has instead left shipowners waiting on the sidelines, with fewer vessels passing the Strait of Hormuz than during the fiercest days of fighting.
Just four ships were identified passing through the strait on Wednesday, down from 11 on Tuesday, according to ship tracking data. The fall came despite hopes that the US-Iran ceasefire deal would unblock the narrow seaway through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally flow.
Iran has insisted the ceasefire agreement with the US will allow it to maintain control over the strait, requiring vessels to seek permission from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and pay a fee. Within hours of the deal to pause fighting, it halted the passage of oil tankers through the strait in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
In a joint statement, the Guards’ naval and aerospace forces said the moves demonstrated Iran would keep its “finger on the trigger” during the two-week ceasefire, with talks with the US set to take place on Friday.
The developments have plunged ships in the Gulf into a state of uncertainty, both over their near-term movements and whether the arrangements point to a more lasting change in the terms for passage through the strait.
“It is a waiting situation,” said SV Anchan, chief executive of Safesea Shipping, whose ship Safesea Vishnu was damaged beyond repair by an Iranian strike on March 11 that killed one crew member. “If you are saying this [agreement] is for the safe passage of the ship we should know the condition of the safe passage.”
“We all feel the situation is very fragile and really want some good guarantees that nothing will happen with these ships transiting,” said Erik Hånell, chief executive of Stena Bulk, which has several tankers inside the Gulf. “How that is going to be set up remains to be seen.”
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