Ships near the Strait of Hormuz are still not ready to cross after more than three months of being trapped by the war with Iran as they await more details for Friday’s scheduled reopening.

After Washington and Tehran agreed to a memorandum of understanding on Sunday, the shipping industry signaled that pre-war traffic on the Strait of Hormuz can only be reached once all the details are out in the open.

As of now, there are far too many risks of attacks from Iran for the majority of ships to brave the strait, said Jakob Larsen, Chief Safety & Security Officer at BIMCO, one of the largest international shipping associations in the world.

“The statements by the US and Iran are currently unclear and do not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as timings and safe routes,” Larsen said in a statement.

“Due to lack of details and a history of overly optimistic reassurances, we believe the security situation for the shipping industry remains volatile, and we still consider it very risky for ships to commence transits at this point ,” he added. 

The cautious approach was echoed by the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, with a spokesperson noting that “more concrete information” is needed regarding Iran’s allegedly minning of the passage and plans to operate a toll system. 

Trump has insisted that the Strait of Hormuz will remain open waters for all, but Iran has repeatedly stated that the pre-war status will not return and that control of the oil chokepoint will be divided between the Islamic republic and Oman. 

Tehran warned that free passage will only last for 60 days, after which it plans to collect fees, which were previously estimated to be as high as $2 million per tanker. 

“Given ⁠the situation, we cannot simply say, ‘Right then, let’s go’ based on news of the agreement alone,” the spokesperson explained.   

BIMCO and other members of the shipping industry have maintained that the decision to cross the Strait of Hormuz lies with each individual captain and whether they believe their crew and cargo will be safe when traveling through the volatile waterway. 

Despite hundreds of ships braving the waters using shadow fleet tactics since the war began, at least 600 vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf, including 250 tankers, according to BIMCO. 

Prior to the war, more than 130 ships sailed through the Strait of Hormuz every day, overseeing about 20% of the world’s oil transports. 

With Post Wires