While Gulf countries and Israel continue to experience missile fire from Iran, and Israeli forces retaliate with their own attacks on Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to most shipping, with only vessels flying the flags of countries considered “friendly” to Iran allowed to pass through the strategic waterway.
A total of 34 ships have recently been approved by Iran to transit the strait, using a route around Larak Island just off the country’s coast, which has been dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth.”
According to analysts at leading shipping journal Lloyd’s List, most of the ships allowed to pass were Greek- and Chinese-owned, as well as other Indian-, Pakistani-, and Syrian-owned vessels.
However, energy market intelligence firm Kpler identified two container ships belonging to Chinese firm Cosco that attempted to cross the strait but later turned around, “suggesting that the situation remains highly unstable,” Kpler data analyst Rebecca Gerdes said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Thailand disclosed that it has reached an agreement with Iran “allowing Thai oil tankers to transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced at a press conference.
“With this agreement in place, there is greater confidence that disruptions like those seen in early March will not recur. The development would alleviate concerns over fuel imports,” Charnvirakul said.
On the other hand, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that three ships attempting to transit the strait had been stopped, reiterating that the vital route remains closed to vessels traveling to and from ports linked to its “enemies.”
“Following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities … were turned back after a warning,” the IRGC said on its Sepah News website.
“The movement of any vessel ‘to and from’ ports of origin belonging to allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies, to any destination and through any corridor, is prohibited,” it added.
The move has raised fresh doubts over which vessels will be able to transit the strategic waterway, which normally serves as a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, as well as other vital products.
More than 80 percent of the crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) that passes through the Strait of Hormuz is bound for Asia. As a result, much of Southeast Asia is bearing the brunt of fuel supply difficulties, with long lines at gasoline stations in Thailand becoming increasingly frequent.
In Manila, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to initiate negotiations with Tehran, noting that “in light of the ongoing surge in the price of petroleum products, which has already caused significant disruptions on the domestic front, the executive department needs to engage in high-level discussions with Iran to secure safe passage of Philippine-bound oil vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and ensure they are recognized as neutral entities.”
Now in its second month, there are no signs the conflict will end soon. Israel’s military even foresees the possibility of further escalation after its air defenses responded to a missile launched from Yemen — the first since the start of the war on Feb. 28 and following threats of attacks from Iran’s Houthi allies.
Sourced online/Tracy Cabrera/ia/xf
