Strait of Hormuz traffic still at just 5% of pre-war levels: Why shipping remains crippled despite ceasefire
Strait of Hormuz traffic still at just 5% of pre-war levels: Why shipping remains crippled despite ceasefire
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Nearly three weeks after a ceasefire between Iran and the United States, maritime activity through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, with traffic still nowhere close to pre-conflict levels. The slowdown highlights the continued instability in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors despite a pause in direct hostilities.
Before the conflict began in March, between 130 and 140 vessels crossed the strait every 24 hours. That volume has dropped sharply, and recovery has been slow and uneven.
Ship movement remains extremely limited
Data from MarineTraffic shows that a significant number of vessels remain stuck across the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
MEPC 84: Russia seeks changes to IMO database rules
MEPC 84: Russia seeks changes to IMO database rules
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Russia tabled a last-minute proposal on the opening day of MEPC 84, seeking changes to Paragraph 12 of Regulation 27 under MARPOL Annex VI.
Regulation 27 requires ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above to collect and report fuel oil consumption data to the IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database.
Paragraph 12 of this regulation states that “The Secretary-General of the Organization shall maintain an anonymized database such that identification of a specific ship will not be possible. Parties shall have access to the anonymized data strictly for their analysis and consideration.”
Russia proposed either deleting the paragraph entirely or amending it so that anonymised data could only be shared with other states with “the consent of the relevant flag state.”
The proposal was backed by several petrostates, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran and Iraq, as well as India, Thailand, Nigeria and Ghana
Atlantic demand could support VLCC rates despite oversupply worries: CMES
Atlantic demand could support VLCC rates despite oversupply worries: CMES
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Rising demand from the Atlantic Basin may support VLCC freight rates despite growing concerns about a structural oversupply in the tanker market amid trade disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, China Merchants Energy Shipping said April 27.
CMES’s Secretary of the Board of Directors, Kong Kang, said during an investor question-and-answer session that recent fears of “no oil to move” are overstated as rates on some long-haul routes begin to stabilize.
“We have seen views saying there is ‘no oil to transport,’ and spot freight outside the Gulf has corrected,” said Kong. “Personally, I believe this is mainly a short-term mismatch between vessel/cargo, and not something to worry excessively about. Recently, there have been signs that this effect is weakening, such as Atlantic long-haul freight stabilizing.”
CMES is one of the world’s largest VLCC owners and is backed by t
Trump Urges Iran to Sign a Deal After Report Suggests US May Extend Blockade
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Trump Urges Iran to Sign a Deal After Report Suggests US May Extend Blockade
Reuters
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April 29, 2026
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Iran to ‘get smart soon’ and sign a deal, following days of deadlock in efforts to end the conflict and a media report that the U.S.
Aged Oil Tanker Suggests Iran Is Bringing Back Retired Ships
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
Aged Oil Tanker Suggests Iran Is Bringing Back Retired Ships
Bloomberg
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April 29, 2026
By Weilun Soon
Apr 29, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A 29-year-old Iranian supertanker has appeared at Kharg Island after years off the radar, a sign that Tehran could be using retired ships to keep loading oil as its storage space runs out.
The
Nasha
, built in 1997, is an Iran-flagged very large crude carrier. It was docked on Sunday at Kharg Island, Iran’s biggest oil-export terminal, according to satellite images reviewed by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and Bloomberg News.
Analysts from Vortexa and UANI said the vessel appears to have been re-mobilized after last delivering a cargo two to three years ago.
U.S. Treasury Warns Hormuz ‘Toll’ Payments to Iran Could Trigger Sanctions
The Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arrives in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra,Iraq April 17, 2026. Treasury Warns Hormuz ‘Toll’ Payments to Iran Could Trigger Sanctions
Mike Schuler
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April 29, 2026
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new sanctions
guidance
warning that payments to Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for so-called “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz are prohibited, adding a new compliance risk to an already fragile maritime security picture.
In Frequently Asked Question 1249 released Monday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said payments to the Government of Iran or the IRGC, whether direct or indirect, “would not be authorized” for U.S.
Appeals Court Backs FMC in Landmark Detention Charges Ruling Against Evergreen
Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles
Appeals Court Backs FMC in Landmark Detention Charges Ruling Against Evergreen
Mike Schuler
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April 29, 2026
A federal appeals court has upheld a closely watched Federal Maritime Commission ruling against Evergreen Marine over container detention charges, in a decision that could reinforce regulatory scrutiny of carrier fee practices and strengthen the Commission’s “freight fluidity” standard.
In a decision issued Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Evergreen’s petition for review and upheld an FMC order finding the carrier acted unreasonably by charging a trucker detention fees during a three-day closure of the Port of Savannah.
The dispute stemmed from a relatively small $510 charge, but the stakes reached far beyond the invoice.
At issue was whether ocean carriers can impose detention charges when a trucker has no practical ability to return equipment — a question that has sat at the
Canada’s First Coast Guard Arctic and Offshore Patrol Cutter Launched at Halifax Shipyard
Future CCGS Donjek enters the water at Halifax Shipyard during the launch of the Canadian Coast Guard’s first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, a milestone for Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy and Arctic fleet renewal. Photo courtesy Irving Shipbuilding
Canada’s First Coast Guard Arctic and Offshore Patrol Cutter Launched at Halifax Shipyard
Mike Schuler
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April 29, 2026
Halifax Shipyard has launched the first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship built for the Canadian Coast Guard, marking the latest milestone in Canada’s
National Shipbuilding Strategy
and the ongoing renewal of the Coast Guard fleet.
The future
CCGS Donjek
was launched April 28 in Bedford Basin after being moved from Halifax Shipyard’s land-level facility onto a submersible barge two days earlier. The 104.7-meter vessel is now pier side at the yard, where work will continue ahead of sea trials and delivery to the Canadian Coast Guard later this year.
The ship is the first of two Coast Guard AOPS variants
Strait of Hormuz Nears Third Month of Closure
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Strait of Hormuz Nears Third Month of Closure
Bloomberg
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April 29, 2026
(Bloomberg) — A fully-laden Japan-linked oil tanker completed a rare transit of the
Strait of Hormuz
, as the effective closure of the waterway to most international traffic enters its third month.
The supertanker Idemitsu Maru, loaded with about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude and headed for Japan, exited the Persian Gulf on Tuesday following the Tehran-approved route that runs close to Iran’s Qeshm and Larak Islands. It was the only non-Iranian very large crude carrier to leave the region in 10 days and the first tanker linked to Japan to cross since the strait effectively closed in late-February.
Tehran’s blocking of the waterway that previously carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and important quantities of liquefied natural gas and other commodities is heading into its third month w
The Forgotten Fuel That Could Power Shipping’s Future
A rendering of a 15,000 TEU-class nuclear-powered containership unveiled by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering.
The Forgotten Fuel That Could Power Shipping’s Future
Paul Morgan
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April 29, 2026
By Paul Morgan (gCaptain) – Thorium, an abundant and largely overlooked radioactive metal, is emerging as the fuel of a new generation of compact molten salt reactors that could transform how ports produce marine fuels and support the energy transition. With China achieving the world’s first experimental proof of the thorium breeding cycle, and Danish engineers designing factory-built reactors that fit inside a shipping container, the timeline may be shorter than most in shipping expect.
The maritime industry has spent the past decade searching for the energy transition’s missing piece. LNG brought methane slip in its wake.