Threatening mines, Iran claims new Hormuz traffic scheme; vessels told Strait closed

A fragile truce between Iran and the US and Israel has quickly given way to attacks and recriminations, with a deadly Israeli bombing campaign in Lebanon and Iran keeping tight control on ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s semi-autonomous military branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has halted vessels in the Strait, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, and Iran state-backed media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting released information from Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization that included a map detailing both a traffic separation scheme and the threat of naval mines.

“Due to the war situation in the Persian Gulf and possible anti‑ship mines in the main traffic zone of the Strait of Hormuz, vessels must co-ordinate with the IRGC Navy and use the designated routes,” IRIB quoted Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization as saying.

UK-based maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said the ’alternative traffic routes’ announced by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization “formalises an already observable wartime transit pattern rather than establishing a wholly new routeing arrangement”.

According to Vanguard, Iran’s instructions would require vessels entering the Persian Gulf to pass through the Strait of Hormuz by going north of Larak Island and vessels exiting the Persian Gulf to pass south of Larak Island. The map indicates a region, labelled via digital translation tools as ’danger area’ or ’risk zone’.

A senior executive from a shipping company told Riviera that the IRGC, known in Iran as Sepah, had communicated a broadcast to vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman saying that the Hormuz was “still” closed, with transits happening only with IRGC permission. The broadcast warned that any vessel transiting without permission would be “targeted and destroyed”.

Vessel traffic through Strait of Hormuz ’unchanged’, say analysts

With the status of the ceasefire still in question, very few vessels are attempting a transit, with most transiting out of the Persian Gulf originating from Iran. 

France-based commodities data tracker AXS Marine said it tracked four vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz inbound on 8 April. Two container vessels (both under 3,000 TEU) and two bulk carriers (above 50,000 dwt) arrived in ballast to load at Bandar Abbas. All four vessels were Iranian-owned, according to AXS Marine.

Seven vessels transited the Strait outbound between 8 April and early on 9 April, AXS said, with five being bulk carriers. In addition, AXS tracked the transits of a small, Omani-owned feeder vessel and a 46,000-dwt chemical/product tanker. 

The tanker “crossed under full AIS blackout” and was under “opaque ownership”, according to AXS.

“Transit behaviour remains highly irregular: blank or manipulated AIS transmissions, non-standard cargo declarations mid-transit, continued use of AIS blackout by certain vessels, routeing via Larak Island,” AXS said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“The nine crossings recorded on 8 April alone do not signal normalisation. Reports also indicate vessels being turned back, while the ceasefire itself has already seen multiple violations.”

source : rivieramm