*6/20 Hormuz Tanker Crossings — Post-MOU Momentum Plunging*
🚢🛢️Today's chart isolates Strait of Hormuz crossings by tanker class: Crude, Chemical, LNG, LPG. The initial post-deal surge is losing steam. After peaking at 15 tankers on June 18th, crossings dropped to 5 yesterday and just 3 in the past 24 hours.
Four factors are slowing the reopening:
1. Is it even open? Iran's joint military command declared the strait closed today citing Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon (per Tasnim). This directly contradicts the MOU signed days ago. Until there's clarity on whether the waterway is officially open or closed, operators have little incentive to risk a transit.
2. Mines. INTERTANKO estimates 80 naval mines remain in the Traffic Separation Scheme — the main shipping lane that used to handle 130+ transits/day. Until clearance is complete, vessels are limited to two narrow alternative corridors with a combined capacity of ~60-80 ships/day.
3. Navigation risks. INTERTANKO's Marine Director noted this week that GPS in the strait remains "utterly unreliable," degrading AIS position data and elevating collision and grounding risk in the narrower corridors.
4. Regulatory uncertainty. Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority now requires vessels to purchase Iranian-approved insurance and a passage permit to transit — but has not disclosed fees, terms, or counterparties. INTERTANKO says the requirement violates the MOU's 60-day no-toll provision.
The result: major operators including Maersk are maintaining transit restrictions despite the MOU.
Our index tracks every commercial crossing via AIS transponder data, refreshed every 30 minutes.
BREAKING: Iran's IRGC officially confirms that the Strait of Hormuz is now closed to all vessels.
The IRGC warns that Vessels who approach the Strait of Hormuz will face a "security risk."