More than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to transit the strait of Hormuz in the three weeks after Tehran and Washington signed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month, the authority said on Tuesday.
The PGSA was formed as part of Tehran's push to tighten control over shipping in and around the critical strait of Hormuz after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran in late February.
Tehran has required vessels seeking to transit the strait to apply in advance for a permit from the PGSA. In many cases, this also involved paying a fee to the authority.
This fee was waived for 60 days as part of the MoU signed on 18 June, which was intended to lay the groundwork for reopening the strait to commercial shipping, ending the fighting and starting talks towards a final peace deal.
But tensions over control and administration of the strait resurfaced last week as Iran and the US began exchanging fire. Iran declared the strait closed again over the weekend of 11-12 July, and US president Donald Trump announced on Monday that Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iran.
"Prior to the recent provocations by US forces in the region that led to the closure of the strait, more than 200 non-Iranian vessels co-ordinated with the PGSA during the three weeks following the signing of the memorandum of understanding," the authority said.
A breakdown published by the PGSA showed that 41pc of vessels applying for permits were "oil tankers". Bulk carriers accounted for 27pc, container ships 18pc and LNG carriers 2pc.
The PGSA said 53pc of vessels submitting requests were travelling eastbound through the strait to exit the Mideast Gulf, while the remaining 47pc were westbound and entering the Gulf.
Of the eastbound vessels, 21pc were destined for China, 20pc for India and 29pc for elsewhere in Asia-Pacific. Another 22pc were travelling to destinations in the wider Middle East region, including ports in Oman, Saudi Red Sea ports and the UAE port of Fujairah.
Of the westbound vessels, 21pc originated in India, 19pc in China and 20pc from other Asian countries. The PGSA said 24pc of vessels entering the Mideast Gulf through the strait originated from ports "within the region".
The PGSA said 79pc of vessels that co-ordinated with it before transiting the strait also took out insurance cover from the authority. It said 14pc of vessels that had applied were still awaiting permits. It has taken the PGSA an average of 50 hours to issue permits, the authority said.
Rival routes
Ship transits through the strait of Hormuz have collapsed since the weekend to levels not seen since the early days of the war.
At the heart of the latest flare-up is a dispute between Tehran and Washington over the management of the strait. The broadly worded MoU signed last month called for Iran to "make arrangements… for the safe passage of commercial vessels".
Tehran interpreted that clause as giving it total control over which vessels can use the waterway and which route they should take. The US has rejected that interpretation.
Iran has prescribed a northern route through the strait along the Iranian coastline, arguing that other routes remain unsafe because naval mines have yet to be cleared.
But the US has promoted a southern route through the strait along the Omani coastline. Washington has said 380mn bl of crude exited the Mideast Gulf, and more than 800 ships passed through the strait via this route, between 18 June and 10 July — roughly the same period covered by the PGSA data.
