Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains highly restricted as the United States and Iran continue to negotiate a memorandum of understanding to resume the movement of oil and other goods into and out of the Persian Gulf, according to maritime tracking services.
Late on Tuesday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed that 25 ships, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, had passed through the strait in the past 24 hours.
The official said the vessel had passed “with permission and under the security protection of the Revolutionary Guards Navy.”
Ship-tracking services could not confirm the number, in part because ships passing through the strait always turn off their AIS transponders, which indicate their location.
However, two tankers left the waterway on Tuesday, industry sources said.
“Twelve vessels passed through the strait on May 26, seven of which ascended and five descended,” maritime information firm Windward said in a note published Wednesday.
“Five of them operated in the dark without AIS broadcasts,” it added.
One of the ships in transit was the oil product tanker Miraan, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in April, Windward said.
“Signal jamming was particularly pronounced last week,” S&P Global Intelligence told CNN on Wednesday.
Three liquid natural gas tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, carrying cargo from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to destinations in Asia, according to analysts at trade information firm Kpler.
Against the backdrop of extremely limited shipping lanes, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that Iran and the United States have not yet reached an agreement on lifting the blockade of the strait.
“Iran and Oman are negotiating new procedures for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz,” said Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
