Ceasefire changes little for shipping in strait of Hormuz, experts say

Analysts expect only limited increase in shipping as vessels will still need to seek Iranian permission to transit

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There will be no “mass exodus” of ships through the strait of Hormuz, shipping analysts say, despite a two-week conditional ceasefire being agreed between the US and Iran with provision for the temporary reopening of the crucial maritime channel.

The ceasefire agreement “doesn’t change the situation in the sense that Iran is still in control”, said Richard Meade, the editor-in-chief at the maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “It still requires ships to essentially seek permission, and that’s the key. That means that nothing has changed – no permission, no transit.”