Ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz, but not at the pace seen before the war.
Data and analytics firm Kpler said its tracking confirmed 131 ships passed through the strait between Friday and Monday, including 39 crossings on Monday. In contrast, about 100 to 130 vessels a day were crossing before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, and Tehran’s response with its own strikes and the effective closure of the waterway.
As part of the interim deal between Iran and the US, Iran said it would carry out demining work within 30 days and remove “technical and military obstacles” to navigation. The main Iranian negotiator and president of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, declared on Monday, 22, to Iranian state media that his country will manage the strait in accordance with international maritime law.
The main central route through the Strait of Hormuz still has mines and remains closed. The ships have used the smaller northern route, which passes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which passes through Omani waters. But “caution is still evident” among the many vessels that follow Iran’s prescribed route or try to conceal their positions and identities by keeping their transponders turned off, Kpler said.
