CIREBON NEWS – Approximately 20,000 sailors are still stranded on hundreds of tankers anchored in the Persian Gulf area. A number of families are worried about the condition of sailors who cannot leave the Strait of Hormuz.
Even though Iran is starting to relax control in the Strait of Hormuz, not all tankers can escape. Ships that do not heed IRGC rules are still threatened with shelling.
New shipping data from monitoring agencies LSEG and Kpler revealed that three tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, with the vessels bound for India and China.
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Two super tankers and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker exited the strait with their transponders turned off, according to the data.
The ships join several tankers leaving the Gulf Region this month, although overall oil and LNG traffic remains very limited.
Before the US-Israel war on Iran, shipping traffic through the strait averaged 125 to 140 daily voyages.
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Meanwhile, the United States (US) has now imposed sanctions on Iran’s newly established Persian Gulf Straits Authority.
The authority is tasked with coordinating the new maritime regime in and around the Strait of Hormuz. This authority is responsible for determining the paths that ships can follow.
According to its rules, ships must notify the IRGC of their origin, cargo and final destination. The authority also plans to collect some type of fee, either tolls or environmental protection fees, through cryptocurrencies.
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US sanctions will of course not only create problems for Iran but also for ships wishing to pass through the strait.
If they do not coordinate with the Persian Gulf Straits Authority, the IRGC has clearly said that they cannot pass through.
If they coordinate with those authorities, it could mean they are violating US sanctions.***
