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Casablanca – Oil tankers began steering away from the Strait of Hormuz today after the US said it would start blockading vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports later in the day, following the collapse of weekend peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
The move came after US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that the US Navy would enforce a blockade targeting ships entering and leaving Iranian ports, sharply escalating tensions around one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.
US Central Command later said the measure would take effect at 10 a.m. ET, or 14:00 GMT, and would apply to maritime traffic of all nations using Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It said ships transiting the strait to non-Iranian ports would still be allowed to pass freely.
Shipping data showed the announcement had an immediate effect on tanker movements.
Two Iranian-linked medium-range tankers, the Auroura and the New Future, were among the few vessels to exit the Gulf on Monday. Both carry around 330,000 barrels.
Auroura was loaded with Iranian oil products, while New Future was carrying diesel loaded from Hamriyah port in the United Arab Emirates and was headed for Sohar in Oman, according to vessel tracking data from LSEG and Kpler cited by Reuters.
Read also: US Orders Blockade of Iranian Ports, Iran Calls Move ‘Illegal Piracy’
Other ships appeared to rethink their routes. The Malta-flagged very large crude carrier Agios Fanourios I, which had attempted to enter the Gulf on Sunday to load Iraqi Basra crude bound for Vietnam, made a U-turn near Hormuz and is now anchored close to the Gulf of Oman, according to the same shipping data.
Before Trump’s announcement, two Pakistan-flagged tankers had already entered the Gulf on Sunday. The Aframax tanker Shalamar was heading toward the United Arab Emirates to load Das crude, while the Panamax-sized Khairpur was bound for Kuwait to load refined products.
A Liberia-flagged VLCC, Mombasa B, also crossed the strait earlier and was sailing empty toward Basra, Iraq.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that any military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as a ceasefire violation and met “harshly and decisively,” adding another layer of uncertainty around commercial shipping.
The market reaction was swift. Brent crude rose 7.2 % to $102.01 a barrel by late morning in London, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 7.8 % to $104.07, as traders priced in the risk of tighter Iranian exports and wider disruption in Gulf flows.
Despite the growing tension, three fully loaded supertankers had still managed to pass through the strait on Saturday, the first such exits since last week’s fragile ceasefire deal.
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