Vessel owners wait and see on Strait of Hormuz “reopening”

Image: Windward AI

Against a backdrop of wildly conflicting statements on the matter from President Trump and various Iranian regime officials it appears that Iran has lifted its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — at least for now. Meantime, though, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports continues.

A snapshot from the Windward Maritime AI platform, captured at 17:28 UTC today, shows the middle of the Strait of Hormuz still empty after Iran’s Foreign Minister declared the waterway “completely open” for commercial vessels, and after President Trump welcomed the announcement and confirmed U.S. mine-clearing operations are underway.

“Markets reacted immediately,” says Windward. “Brent crude fell more than 8%. U.S. stocks opened at new all-time highs. On paper, the chokepoint is reopening.

“On the water, it isn’t. Not yet. Operators are holding position, waiting for independent confirmation that the mines are cleared, the coordinated routing is workable, and the ceasefire will hold. No master commits a hull, a cargo, and a crew to a 21-mile chokepoint on the strength of a press release.

“Vessel behavior is the ground truth. And right now, the ground truth is still catching up with the headlines.”

BIMCO CAUTION:

Jakob Larsen, BIMCO chief safety & security officer, commented:

“The announcement from 17 April at around 1400 GMT by U.S ≥\President Donald Trump that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open is inaccurate.

“The status of mine threats in the Traffic Separation Scheme is unclear and BIMCO believes shipping companies should consider avoiding the area.

“This means that the TSS is not declared safe for transit at this point.”