The battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz has stalled movement towards ending the wider conflict
No commercial vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz while broadcasting their location since yesterday evening, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic. Other ships may have crossed with their transmitters off.
On Sunday, the Iranian government’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said transit through the waterway “is not currently possible” due to “illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region”.
Eight commercial vessels including tankers, bulk carriers and cargo vessels, crossed the strait on Sunday – down from 21 on Saturday and 14 on Friday, according to preliminary data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Of the eight that crossed yesterday, two broadcast their positions during the transit and both had crossed before the PGSA made its announcement.
The other six crossings recorded by Kpler were dark, meaning they did not broadcast their position while they were crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
The battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz has stalled movement towards ending the wider conflict.
Iran pledged to open the strait, according to the terms of its interim deal with Washington, but it has been firing on commercial vessels it says are using an unauthorised route.
The US military says its latest round of strikes has continued to degrade Iran’s ability to attack international shipping. And it insists that traffic is still able to flow through the strait.
The Trump administration needs that to happen to bring oil prices down ahead of midterm elections in November.
Attempts by mediators to resolve the dispute at the weekend failed – and it’s clear how important control of the strait is to Iran: more important than dozens of atomic bombs, senior Iranian officials have said.
It’s believed neither side wants to return to all-out war, but analysts say they are in a state of controlled escalation.
bbc.com