Only two oil products tankers were seen approaching the waterway on Sunday even as the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) advised that the Strait of Hormuz’s southern route along the Omani coastline remained open. The advisory described the threat level as “severe” and warned mariners of mine danger and naval communications, following an IRGC declaration that no vessels would be allowed to pass until foreign interference ends. The update accompanied a third round of US strikes in a week and an Iranian barrage on five regional allies, with a Cyprus-flagged container ship hit nine nautical miles off Oman and its crew rescued. The JMIC’s operational assessment follows the near-standstill in traffic and a drop in tanker transits to single digits reported earlier, while the IRGC’s interdiction of two non-compliant vessels and the fresh attacks on allied states present a contradictory picture to the limited LNG and Japan-linked transits noted two days ago.
Context
The JMIC’s operational assessment follows the near-standstill in traffic and a drop in tanker transits to single digits reported earlier, while the IRGC’s interdiction of two non-compliant vessels and the fresh attacks on allied states present a contradictory picture to the limited LNG and Japan-linked transits noted two days ago.
