US clarifies Hormuz blockade will be limited to ships entering or leaving Iran ports

US FORCES will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports on Monday at 1000 hrs New York (EDT) time, according to a statement issued by US Central Command late on Sunday.

The instruction revises an earlier statement issued by US President Donald Trump via social media that the US navy would “blockade any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz”.

The update confirms US forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, according to Centcom.

“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” Centcom said.

While the update now opens the possibility of non-Iranian transits, shipowners were still awaiting further details of the US operations on Monday before making any operational decisions.

The decision to halt all Iranian exports will directly impact China, Iran’s largest buyer of oil, which has continued to import the sustained flows of Iranian crude throughout the conflict.

Iran exported 2.15m barrels per day in February and 1.85m bpd in March.

Transits through the strait had picked up over the weekend ahead of the peace talks breaking down, with 30 vessels over 10,000 dwt transiting on Saturday and Sunday.

Outbound voyages included three mainstream very large crude carriers laden with Iraqi and Saudi oil, the first non-shadow fleet* VLCCs tracked to have made outbound voyages through the chokepoint since the war began.

But following news of the talks hitting a dead end, which broke early Sunday, and subsequent blockade announcements from president Trump, some vessels transiting the strait appeared to change course and turn around.

There were also signs over the weekend that vessels were adhering to the Traffic Separation Scheme unveiled by Iran on April 9.

Under the “new” TSS, the outbound route runs south of Larak but still in Iran's territorial waters, contrary to the “normal” TSS where vessels were transiting through the Omani territorial waters.

The inbound lane is the same as the one Iran began forcing vessels through around mid-March, running between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm.

However, while some vessels debuted the south-of-Larak route for outbound voyages over the weekend, the Larak-Qeshm passage was still being used for both inbound and outbound voyages.