Ships advised to keep their distance from Iran around Hormuz Strait

FILE PHOTO: A tug boat moves cargo towards the Strait of Hormuz, in Musandam province, Oman, July 20, 2018. Picture taken on July 20, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/ File Photo
Ships advised to keep their distance from Iran around Hormuz Strait
LONDON - Commercial ships are sailing close to Oman and are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, with the risk of the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating, shipping sources said on Wednesday.
Iran has in the past threatened to close the critical Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Any closure of the strait could restrict trade and affect global oil prices.
In the latest measure, ships sailing towards Hormuz are looking to minimise risks and are sailing close to Oman's coast for much of the journey.
The Gulf of Oman is 200 miles (320 km) wide - much of it international waters - and is bordered by Oman and Iran, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, which have territorial waters of 12 miles.
Journeys will still need to be made through Hormuz itself, which is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point. The two shipping lanes are just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction.
A larger cluster of ships was sailing closer to the Omani coast on Wednesday, while mainly Iranian-flagged vessels were sailing within Iranian waters, according to ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.
"Taking into account that during the past, there have been incidents of violations of freedom of navigation and maritime safety for merchant vessels near the shores of Iran, we strongly suggest that Greek-flagged vessels sail, if possible, away from waters of Iranian jurisdiction when in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman," the Greek Shipping Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday that his country will not accept U.S. President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender, in his first comments since Israel began bombarding Iran on Friday. Iran has responded with deadly barrages across Israel.
Electronic interference with commercial ship navigation systems has surged in recent days around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf, adding to risks for sailors hauling oil cargoes.
Average earnings for the supertankers that carry a maximum of 2 million barrels of oil have surged in recent days to over $50,000 a day from over $20,000 a week ago, according to analysts.
"The regional threat level remains significant as strikes continue from both Iran and Israel," the multinational, U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces JMIC Information Center said in an advisory, adding that the maritime threat level is elevated.
QatarEnergy has instructed tankers to remain outside the Strait of Hormuz and to enter the Gulf only the day before loading, amid military strikes between nearby Iran and Israel, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Straits Times

25 minutes ago

• Straits Times

S. Korea's President Lee names first civilian defence minister in decades

South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung named veteran lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as the country's first civilian defence minister in 64 years on June 23. PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL - South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung named veteran lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as the country's first civilian defence minister in 64 years on June 23, making good on a campaign promise made after martial law in December 2024 shook faith in the military. Mr Lee, who took office on June 4 after winning a snap election called when former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over the martial law attempt, also named 10 other cabinet ministers including former UN ambassador Cho Hyun as foreign minister and North Korea diplomacy advocate Chung Dong-young as unification minister, his office said. Mr Yoon's defence minister Kim Yong-hyun played a leading role in recommending and planning the martial law, and is in jail amid an ongoing trial on insurrection charges. The nominations, which do not require parliamentary approval but will be reviewed in at-times contentious hearings, come as Mr Lee works to form a new cabinet and staff his office. He took office the day after the election without a transition period, as Mr Yoon was ousted in April for breaching the duties of his office with December 2024's martial law declaration, which he reversed after parliament defied him. Mr Lee has worked with an acting prime minister and a cabinet carried over from Mr Yoon's administration as he tackles the job of uniting a bitterly divided country and formulating a response to US President Donald Trump's new tariffs. He has pledged to pursue diplomacy pillared on pragmatism with a focus on support for the export-heavy economy's global companies in the fields of automobiles, semiconductors and steelmaking. Earlier this month he named a long-term member of parliament and a key political ally, Mr Kim Min-seok, to be his prime minister, a post that requires parliamentary approval. Mr Lee on June 23 also nominated new ministers for agriculture, environment, labour and maritime affairs, among others. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Straits Times

40 minutes ago

• Straits Times

Iran weighs retaliation for U.S. strikes as Trump raises idea of regime change

A boy rides a scooter near a damaged car at an impact site following Iran's strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Florion Goga Satellite image shows an overview of Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, before it was hit by U.S. airstrikes, in Isfahan, Iran, June 16, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS A U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber returns after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, U.S. June 22, 2025 in a still image from video. ABC Affiliate KMBC via REUTERS People attend a protest against the U.S attack on nuclear sites, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 22, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran June 22, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced on Monday for Tehran's response to the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites and U.S. President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic. Iran vowed to defend itself on Sunday, a day after the U.S. joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world. Commercial satellite imagery indicated the U.S. attack on Saturday on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said. In his latest social media comments on the U.S. strikes, Trump said "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran." "The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government "must now make peace" or "future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier." The U.S. launched 75 precision-guided munitions including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the U.S. strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Tehran, which denies its nuclear programme is for anything other than peaceful purposes, sent a volley of missiles at Israel in the aftermath of the U.S. attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. But it had not acted on its main threats of retaliation, to target U.S. bases or choke off the global oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the U.S. Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January. Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97% to $78.53 a barrel as of 0503 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04% to $75.35. Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the strait, which Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Caine said the U.S. military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. State Department issued a security alert for all U.S. citizens abroad, calling on them to "exercise increased caution." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the strait, telling Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show it would be a "terrible mistake." "It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours," he said. The Israeli military said on Monday about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in western Iran and Tehran overnight. ⁠In Kermanshah, in western Iran, missile and radar infrastructure was targeted, and in Tehran a surface-to-air missile launcher was struck, it said. A missile launched from Iran in the early hours of Monday was intercepted by Israeli defences, it said. Air raid sirens blared overnight in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. Iranian news agencies reported air defences were activated in central Tehran districts to counter "enemy targets", and that Israeli air strikes hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital. Israel's state broadcaster reported that an Israeli Hermes drone was shot down in Iranian territory, the fourth to be shot down in the area since the start of the campaign. REGIME CHANGE In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote. Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment. As Tehran weighed its options, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel. Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. Russia's foreign ministry condemned the U.S. attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and warned of conflict spreading in the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the U.S. strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the U.S. bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. Commercial airlines were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the U.S. struck Iran. The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia but flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed empty space on Sunday over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Business Times

an hour ago

• Business Times

Japanese ships transiting Strait of Hormuz to minimise time in Gulf

[TOKYO] Japan's Nippon Yusen and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said on Monday they have instructed their vessels to minimise the time spent in the Gulf as they continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz following the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The shipping companies said they are closely monitoring the situation and sharing updates with ships operating in the region. 'We are instructing our vessels to shorten their time in the Persian Gulf whenever possible, depending on their schedules,' a Nippon Yusen spokesperson said. 'We will make decisions on each vessel's passage through the Strait of Hormuz on a flexible basis,' he added. MOL's safety operation supporting centre in Tokyo has stepped up 24-hour surveillance, a company spokesperson said. 'We are advising vessels operating in the area to exercise maximum caution and providing them with latest information,' he said, adding that their vessels have also been instructed to minimise the time in the Gulf. President Donald Trump said the US had 'obliterated' Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes over the weekend, joining an Israeli assault in an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself. Iran's Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Press TV said on Sunday, after parliament was reported to have backed the measure. Iran has long used the threat of closing the Strait, through which around 20 per cent of global oil and gas demand flows, as a way to ward off Western pressure which is now at its peak following the US strikes. REUTERS