Shipowners and Oil Traders Wary as Iran Says Hormuz Fully Open

a)dr71oad]529qewsm43)a0u_media_dl_1.png Vessel tracking data compiled by

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(Bloomberg) — Tanker owners and oil traders responded warily after Iran said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ships — a statement that, if true, will free up millions of barrels of crude oil and fuel stuck inside the Persian Gulf.

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The country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that “the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open.” Araghchi’s post said the waterway is open, but through a “coordinated route” — an apparent reference to a Tehran-approved passage. 

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Soon after, US President Donald Trump said in a social media post of his own that Hormuz was open — even if an American blockade of Iranian shipping remains in place.

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Oil and natural gas prices plunged and stock markets rallied on the messaging.

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Bloomberg spoke to over a dozen ship owners, agents, brokers and traders, most of whom asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The majority said Iran’s statement lacked detail, and that they would wait and see how it works out in practice. People familiar with the thinking of some large producers in the region also expressed caution.

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“The market will treat it with cautious optimism rather than full confidence,” said Capt. Farhad Patel, director of Sharaf Shipping Agency in Dubai, a firm that works with many owners in the area. “While this move should help restore some vessel movement and ease immediate pressure on energy flows, the operating environment remains highly controlled and sensitive.”

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Routing restrictions, inspections, and parallel enforcement measures in the region mean this is not yet a return to normal trading conditions, Patel said. 

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There has been no sign of ships rushing to transit the Strait of Hormuz in the hours since the announcement, according to vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. 

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Shipowners said that so far, no one wants to be the first to find out whether the route really is safe and fully open. 

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“Would you be the first penguin off the ice floe to test the water?” one asked.

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At least 135 million barrels of crude and refined products are held on tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That includes cargoes loaded in the final days of February and the first half of March, before all the available vessels were filled.

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Even if the strait is fully opened, it will take weeks for ships leaving the Gulf to reach their destinations, and months or years for the energy rich region’s oil and gas production to return to normal.

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Several people involved in moving cargo through Hormuz pointed out that Iran is thought to have placed sea-mines on the traditional route that’s closer to Oman, showing that full freedom of navigation is not a given. Trump said in a social media post they are being removed.