There is no immediate sign that more crude oil is leaving the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the ceasefire in the war in Iran. This is what Tom Kloza, chief advisor to the American oil company Gulf Oil, says to the American media outlet CNN.
- There are only very small steps being taken. There is no sign that the strait will reopen, and it seems to be a fragile ceasefire, if I have to state the obvious, says Tom Kloza.
The chief advisor mentions that only a very small amount of oil is currently leaving the region. According to Kloza, the current ceasefire is so fragile that shipping companies are reluctant to sail through the narrow strait.
- It looks like it will be weeks before we see a recovery of even 50 or 70 percent of the normal traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which we depend on, says Tom Kloza.
An Iranian opening of the Strait of Hormuz was a demand from US President Donald Trump in order to enter into a two-week ceasefire with Iran. In the agreement, which was concluded on Wednesday night, Iran has agreed to open the strait, through which 20 percent of the world's oil consumption passed before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said that sailings through the strait must be coordinated with Iran's military. The Revolutionary Guard in Iran warned on Wednesday of the risk of collisions with underwater mines, writes the Iranian media ISNA according to the news agency Reuters. The Revolutionary Guard has also shared instructions on an alternative route through the strait.
Earlier on Wednesday, according to the Iranian news agency Fars, it was reported that Iran had suspended ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in protest against several Israeli attacks in Lebanon. This was reported by the news agency dpa.
Two tankers had passed through the strait at that time, Fars wrote.
According to the Israeli military, the airstrikes carried out on Wednesday were aimed at the militant group Hezbollah. There have been different opinions on whether Lebanon is part of the ceasefire.
The US and Israel do not believe that Lebanon is part of the agreement. The opposite applies to Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who has acted as a mediator.
/ritzau/
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