Strait of Hormuz reopens slowly as most ships stay put
President Trump’s call for “Ships of the World, start your engines” has not translated into traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Days after the June 16 preliminary US-Iran agreement to reopen the waterway, only about seven ships have transited and more than 550 remain stranded on either side, Al Jazeera reported . Before the war, in February 2026, some 120 to 140 ships passed daily, carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil. Iranian tankers have crossed the former US blockade line for the first crude exports in two months.
The gap between the announcement and actual traffic reflects how slowly maritime risk reprices. War-risk insurance premiums sit at 1–3% of hull value, against 0.25% before the war, making each transit costly. Operators also cite unconfirmed reports of underwater mines that could take about two months to clear, and analysts say shipowners want to see sustained, incident-free passage — one estimate put it at four months — before treating the route as safe.
The practical effect is that a political reopening does not equal a physical one: oil markets and supply chains that depend on Hormuz are likely to see only a gradual return to normal flows, with insurance costs and security verification, not the signing ceremony, setting the pace.