Iran tells UN non-hostile vessels may transit Hormuz with Iranian clearance as oil shipments remain severely disrupted

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Iran formally notified the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization on Tuesday that vessels not associated with the United States or Israel may transit the Strait of Hormuz, provided they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters.

The communication, sent by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the 15-member Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, was circulated Tuesday among the 176 member states of the London-based IMO. The move represents Iran’s first formal framework for conditional passage since hostilities began on Feb. 28, when U.S. and Israeli strikes triggered a near-total halt to commercial shipping through the waterway.

The strait normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, approximately 138 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz daily. Since the war began on Feb. 28, just 21 tankers have completed the crossing, compared with more than 100 ships daily before the conflict. On March 22, just one vessel was reported openly transiting the strait with its AIS signal active.

Iran’s note stipulates that vessels belonging to or associated with the U.S. or Israel, as well as those of other parties it designates as participants in aggression, do not qualify for passage. Ships from other states may benefit from safe transit provided they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and comply with Iranian safety and security regulations.

Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM have suspended vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz, with Maersk warning that services calling Persian Gulf ports may experience delays. Some 43 of the 81 container vessels bound for ports along the strait when the war began have rerouted to other Gulf ports, with the rest diverting from the region entirely. Cargoes have been redirected to ports outside the strait, notably Fujairah and Khor Fakkan in the UAE and Oman’s Sohar, before onward movement by truck.

Roughly 400 vessels have been spotted operating in the Gulf of Oman, representing a significant backlog of ships waiting near the chokepoint.

War risk ship insurance premiums for the strait increased from 0.125% to between 0.2% and 0.4% of the ship insurance value per transit in the days before the strikes, representing an increase of approximately $250,000 for very large crude carriers. The Joint War Committee of the London insurance market has since included waters around Oman in its list of high risk maritime areas.

Maritime security analyst Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Group, has said a verification process may be emerging inside the strait, with Iran potentially requiring ships to be approved for transit via a route between Larak and Qeshm islands.

The IMO Council convened in London for its 36th Extraordinary Session to address impacts on shipping and seafarers from the ongoing conflict, with a coalition of member states urging the establishment of a provisional safe maritime corridor and calling for immediate compliance with international law to ensure unhindered navigation.