Hormuz accounted for a fifth of global oil shipping before the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, which prompted Tehran to shut down the strait to tanker and cargo traffic effectively. [Getty]
Iran’s newly created “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” said in a post on X on Wednesday that there will be a “controlled maritime zone” at the Strait of Hormuz.
The authority, which was set to manage the strait, set the zone as the “line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern side of the strait, to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western side of the strait.”
It said transit through the area to pass through the strait would require coordination and authorisation from the authority.
Concerns are growing over supply shocks as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been impacted by the US-Israeli war on Iran launched at the end of February.
For its part, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned Wednesday that the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz could “trigger a severe global food price crisis” in the coming months.
Hormuz accounted for a fifth of global oil shipping before the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, which prompted Tehran to shut down the strait to tanker and cargo traffic effectively.
A third of the world’s fertiliser supply also passed through the strait before the war, and officials have warned that farmers could face shortages during the summer growing season.
