Shadi J. H. Alassar/Anadolu/Getty Images
- Iran announced Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" to commercial traffic.
- By that evening, ship-tracking data was showing ships being turned away.
- Iran has since reversed course. Movement has come to a halt as tensions persist.
Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" on Friday morning, but by Monday, maritime traffic in the strategic waterway ground largely to a halt.
Only three ships passed through the strait on Monday, according to data from KPler, a real-time trade intelligence platform.
Opening the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and a major artery for global shipments of oil and natural gas — has been a central demand since the start of a fragile ceasefire earlier this month and amid negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said in a statement on social media Friday morning that "the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organization of the Islamic Rep. of Iran."
Iran's coordinated route appeared to refer to previously released guidance that takes ships through the northern part of the waterway closest to Iran.
Shipping organizations had mixed reactions. Some welcomed the news as a positive signal, while others urged caution. It wasn't immediately clear how much had changed with Friday's announcement from Iran.
President Donald Trump acknowledged Iran's Friday statement in a Truth Social post, writing that "Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for passage." The market reaction to the announcement saw stocks climb higher and oil fall.
MarineTraffic data from Friday afternoon showed that just over half a dozen commercial vessels had transited the strait since the announcement.
Data from KPler showed that eight commercial vessels had crossed as of 2 pm EST Friday compared to five on Thursday. The data references commercial fleets of crude tankers, LPG, LNG, and dry bulk vessels. Containerships are not included in the count. But by the evening, new data showed ships were turning back.
On Saturday, Iran announced that it had returned the strait to its "previous state" under the control of its armed forces.
The limited number of ships that had gone through was a fraction of the pre-war normal. Before the war, the strait saw an average of over 120 transits daily.
Last week, US Navy warships set up a blockade of Iranian ships and ports. Trump said the blockade will remain in effect until Washington and Tehran reach a deal to end the war.
US Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has highlighted the role of the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the blockade during a briefing Thursday but didn't specify numbers involved.
On Sunday, US Navy destroyer USS Spruance opened fire on the engine room of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that attempted to run the blockade and sail toward an Iranian port. US forces then boarded and seized control of the vessel.
Dozens of surveillance aircraft, refueling planes, and drones are also involved in the blockade. US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said Friday that 19 vessels have turned around to comply with blockade restrictions since it began on Monday.
The US set up the blockade amid a tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran, which was reached after more than a month of war. US military leaders have asserted that American forces remain poised to resume combat operations should the negotiations fail.
The two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday, and the status of talks between Iran and the US is precarious.