Hormuz choke point persists as Iran halts oil traffic despite Trump ceasefire
Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that hinged on reopening the critical waterway, raising fresh questions about whether Iran is following through...
By Fox News · Fox News
Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that hinged on reopening the critical waterway, raising fresh questions about whether Iran is following through on a central condition of the truce. A backlog of roughly 3,200 vessels — among them 800 tankers and cargo ships — has built up west of the strait, with ships idling as operators wait for clarity on whether it is safe to pass. No oil tankers have risked the journey in recent days, according to Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, a data and intelligence company. "We're not seeing any, any, any oil products passing through there," Smith said. "So for all intents and purposes, the strait remains closed. And this is the leverage that Iran has." GEN JACK KEANE 'SKEPTICAL' THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL 'DELAY AND OBFUSCATE' Three vessels passed through the Strait on Thursday, according to Smith, two of them Iranian-flagged and one a dry bulk carrier. "Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!" President Donald Trump warned on Wenesday. Nearly 20,000 mariners essentially are stranded in the Persian Gulf throughout the crisis, according to the International Maritime Organization. On Wednesday, one Sri Lanka-flagged vessel passed inbound through the strait, while four dry bulk carriers — flagged in Botswana, Liberia, Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis — and one Iranian vessel sailed outbound, according to Windward AI, a maritime data platform. The few vessels that are transiting are doing so through a corridor near Iran’s Larak Island rather than standard commercial lanes, according to Windward, with some ships switching off tracking systems as they pass. At the same time, cargo is increasingly being rerouted through ports in Oman and along the United Arab Emirates' east coast, adding roughly two weeks to some voyages and increasing costs by about 25%…