Shipping Firms Stay Cautious Despite U.S.-Iran Hormuz Deal

Shipping companies and tanker owners are not expected to resume regular traffic through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, despite a U.S.-Iran agreement to reopen the strategic waterway. Jotaro Tamura, chief executive of Mitsui OSK Lines, told the Financial Times that operators will wait until they are sure the deal is meaningful and reflected in real security conditions.

Tamura said many firms will avoid rushing back even after President Donald Trump declared there is now a safe, protected route through the strait and the announcement on Sunday pushed Brent crude prices down immediately. The passage had been nearly shut since the end of February, and the industry believes it could take several weeks, possibly up to a month, before traffic returns to normal.

The strait is vital, before the fighting, more than one fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through it, along with grain and consumer goods for Gulf states. Industry groups are now focused on moving roughly 500 stranded ships out of the area, while the UN International Maritime Organization is assessing safe passage and working on an evacuation corridor after more than 100 days of crew delays. Its secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said the agency is trying to avoid mines and dangerous congestion.

Some carriers are more upbeat. Hapag-Lloyd said the news was encouraging and hoped its trapped ships could leave as soon as the coming weekend, while Intertanko’s Philip Belcher urged each vessel to conduct its own risk assessment. Tamura, who became MOL chief in April, also rejected Iran’s attempts to charge transit fees as contrary to international law, said MOL had already helped extract four ships without paying Iran, and said at least seven more remain stuck. He also suggested the successful evacuations owed more to diplomacy by countries such as Oman and India than to Japan, even as MOL shares have risen 20% this year in Tokyo to a value of about 2.1 trillion yen, or $13 billion.