Most shipping lines remain reluctant to send their cargo ships through the 21-mile canal until the United States and Iran reach a definitive peace agreement that includes the safe reopening of the strait.
The world’s most influential maritime industry executives are gathered in Athens this week for the annual International Shipping Fair. The highlighted topic: the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump has said the reopening of the strait is imminent. Administration officials highlight that ships are managing to pass through this vital strategic point.
However, most shipping industry executives remain reluctant to send their cargo ships through the 21-mile canal until the United States and Iran reach a definitive peace agreement that includes the safe reopening of the strait.
The closure of the strait continues to cut off 20% of the world’s oil supply from global markets, along with the liquefied natural gas and fertilizers needed to run the global economy. After oil prices fell last week on hopes of a deal to reopen the strait, oil futures soared on Monday following a weekend of renewed fighting in the region and reports that Iran had broken off peace talks.
According to research firm Kpler, on Friday only seven ships passed through the strait — five entering and two leaving. Over the weekend, only four more ships left the strait. Typically, a hundred cargo ships transit this waterway daily, according to shipping data provider Lloyd’s List.
Source: International Monetary Fund PortWatch
Graphic: Byron Manley and Henrik Pettersson, CNN
“Traffic remains exceptionally low,” Matt Smith, director of commodities research at Kpler, told CNN. “With the exception of a handful of oil tankers that pass through the strait every day, it remains essentially closed.”
Since current traffic is insignificant compared to normal, industry officials do not believe this will have a significant impact on global markets.
It will take more than a “limited number of successful crossings” to restore confidence, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, who spent five years working for American President Lines in the Middle East, told CNN.
“The most important question is whether shippers, insurers and ship operators have sufficient confidence in the long-term safety environment to resume regular service patterns,” Seroka said.
Last month’s efforts to have the U.S. military escort commercial ships out of the strait through “Project Freedom” turned out to be short-lived.
Despite reports of new naval escorts in recent days, a US Central Command spokesman said this had not happened.
“While U.S. forces are not providing escorts, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial vessels seeking to transit freely and safely through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the command.
Industry sources confirm that it will take time for normal traffic to resume
“Our general impression is that the threat to ships passing through the strait is still significant, and we will not see a full resumption of traffic through the strait until there is a stronger guarantee of safe passage,” an oil industry source told CNN on Monday.
This Monday, a cargo ship sailing in the north of the Persian Gulf was hit by an unknown projectile, according to a maritime security organization managed by the British armed forces. Since the start of the war, there have been 39 attacks on ships in the region and 11 deaths, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Container ships that normally transport much of the food and other goods to the Gulf states were also stranded due to the closure of the strait. Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, has not had any ships sailing since mid-May. Six Maersk ships remain stuck in the Gulf.
Sources: Flanders Marine Institute (2026): MarineRegions.org, Vortexa, US Energy Information Administration
Graphic: Renée Rigdon and Annette Choi, CNN
Sources in the maritime transport sector said it is essential that no restrictions or fees are imposed on ships once the strait reopens.
“As shipping comes under increasing pressure due to geopolitical events, we must do everything we can to work together to always put the safety of seafarers first,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said at the shipping conference in Greece on Monday. “I call on the industry to join the IMO in defending the principle of freedom of navigation, including the rejection of tolls and discriminatory traffic measures.”
Shipping rates in the rest of the world have already soared due to the disruptions. Heidmar, a Greek oil tanker operator, reported a more than 200% increase in revenue in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, mainly due to what CEO Pankaj Khanna described as “historically high” shipping rates.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said it will take time to restore confidence damaged by the war.
“New ships need to come back, and shipowners need to feel comfortable sending crews back after they’ve been stranded for months,” Wirth told Bloomberg on Friday. “Emptying inventories to allow (oil) fields to restart production and repair the damage will not happen overnight.”
