TEHRAN — The Strait of Hormuz, one of the most crucial maritime routes for global oil trade, has turned into a tense chokepoint as Iran maintains tight control over its waters amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to Arab News. Yet, a handful of ships have managed to pass through what some sailors now call the “Tehran Toll Booth.”
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Tehran has authorized certain vessels carrying essential goods to reach Iranian ports through the Strait. These ships must coordinate with Iranian maritime authorities and follow official protocols before making the passage. The measure allows limited traffic while most of the route remains effectively sealed off as retaliation for U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on February 28.
The strait, a narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, normally handles about a fifth of the world’s oil trade. Its closure has sent shockwaves through energy markets and stranded ships from multiple nations. Despite the shutdown, vessels from India, Türkiye, France, and Japan have reportedly crossed safely under Iranian clearance.
Türkiye’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu confirmed that two Turkish flagged ships had successfully transited the war-torn strait. Fifteen Turkish-owned vessels were waiting to cross since the conflict began, he said, while expressing caution about the dangers in the region.
India also reported progress: an LPG tanker named Green Sanvi completed its journey carrying 46,650 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas with 25 crew members on board. The Indian shipping ministry said the ship passed safely, adding that 17 Indian-flagged vessels remain stationed in the western Arabian Gulf, holding their position until conditions improve.
Similar cautious movement has been observed among Western companies. Ship tracking data from Marine Traffic showed that a French vessel belonging to the CMA CGM group and a Japanese-owned tanker both crossed the Strait on Thursday. The French ship, Kribi, exited the Gulf via an Iranian approved route, while the Japanese co-owned Sohar LNG took a southern passage close to Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, an unusual route never taken so closely before this conflict.
Lloyd’s List, a leading shipping journal, noted that ships are increasingly using coded broadcasts such as “OMANI SHIP” or “Chinese crew” on their transponder messages, apparently to reduce the risk of being targeted by Iranian missiles or drones.
Maritime data paints a stark picture of how trade has collapsed. Since March 1, only 221 commercial vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, compared to roughly 120 daily transits in peacetime. Of those, 60 percent were ships going to or coming from Iran, with most of the rest linked to the United Arab Emirates, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.
Crude oil shipments have fallen sharply too. Thirty of the 37 tankers that managed to leave the Gulf with oil cargoes were flying Iranian flags or carrying Iranian oil, most of them bound for China. Experts say the moves highlight Iran’s effort to keep its exports alive while still signaling dominance over the world’s most vital energy corridor.
As the conflict rages across the region, the Strait of Hormuz remains both a lifeline and a warning, a narrow passage through which the world’s fuel once flowed freely, now guarded fiercely under the shadow of war.
