Traffic via the Strait of Hormuz has been paralyzed again, with Bloomberg reporting there was only one vessel attempting to exit the strait and none trying to enter. The lonely vessel was a bulk carrier.
The freeze followed Iran’s late Wednesday firing on three vessels traversing the strait, saying that the ceasefire it had agreed with the U.S. and Israel had been breached. This followed news that Israel is still bombing southern Lebanon, which Iran insisted had to be included in the ceasefire. Earlier this month, Israel and Lebanon even held direct talks.
In addition to shutting the Strait of Hormuz again, Tehran’s forces also seized two container ships after the U.S. seized two Iranian vessels earlier this week. The U.S. also blockaded traffic to and from Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf, but it appears that the blockade has not stopped traffic completely. Vortexa reported that it had tracked as many as 34 sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers moving in and out of the waterway, the AP reported earlier today.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between the warring parties continues to hold in terms of direct missile strikes against their respective targets. Yet traffic via one of the world’s vital energy chokepoints is once again nonexistent as the war nears the end of its second month.
The Middle East war and the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz could redraw the global energy map as the world’s most critical oil chokepoint is no longer seen as a reliable route for oil and gas supply, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said earlier this week.
The Iran war and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz have shown the world that the Strait has lost its status of a reliable energy export route, Birol told Turkish newspaper Dünya. As a result, the crisis could lead to the global energy flows being redrawn, the official added.
“Even if the Strait of Hormuz opens tomorrow, returning to the pre-war period will require significant time, a recovery process, and large volumes of capital,” Birol said.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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