Hormuz traffic thin despite truce as Iran issues safety warning
IRGC wants vessels to sail through Iranian waters around Larak Island to avoid the risk of naval mines in the usual lanes.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has warned ships to keep to a route that passes through its territorial waters when crossing the Strait of Hormuz, as traffic remained well below 10 percent of normal volumes.
Mitsui OSK Lines, one of Japan’s big three shipping firms, is among those caught up in the confusion as firms try to work out what impact the US-Iran two-week ceasefire is having.
"It must be confirmed that the safety risks are sufficiently low," President and CEO Jotaro Tamura told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
The company has recently managed to bring three tankers, one loaded with liquefied natural gas and two with cooking gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), out of the strait.
Tamura said the company was awaiting guidance from the Japanese government on how to proceed under the two-week ceasefire.
Avoid risks
The IRGC wants vessels to sail through Iranian waters around Larak Island to avoid the risk of naval mines in the usual lanes through the strait, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
Vessels are to enter the strait north of Larak Island and exit just south of it until further notice in coordination with the IRGC's navy, Tasnim quoted the IRGC as saying.
"There is to be a realistic possibility of continued risk to unauthorised Strait of Hormuz transits as well as to Israel- and US-affiliated shipping attempting to transit," British maritime security company Ambrey said in an advisory.
"Even shipping with apparent approval has been turned back in recent weeks mid-transit," it said.
Just six ships had passed through the strait in the past 24 hours, versus about 140 normally, ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.
More than 180 tankers carrying approximately 172 million barrels of crude oil and refined products remain stranded in the Gulf, according to ship tracker Kpler.
Iran’s toll plan
Media reports have suggested that Iran might want to charge a toll for ships passing through, some pinning the figure at $2 million, and ship-tracking data has shown some vessels, such as the Indian-flagged Pine Gas LPG tanker, are already taking the unusual route around Larak Island.
The United States issued a surprise temporary waiver on Iranian oil exports last month, which is due to end on April 19, in a bid to support global supply and ease fuel price rises.
Oil prices have risen by about 50 percent since the Iran war began on February 28, with the US national average retail gasoline price recently topping $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years.
One Iranian-flagged oil tanker and one bunkering tanker have sailed through the strait in the past 24 hours, according to analysis from Charlie Brown, senior adviser at US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic.