News
June 23, 2026
Ship traffic has picked up in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran and the U.S. signed an interim deal to end a war that constricted global oil supplies and fueled inflation, but questions surrounding control of the vital waterway and whether vessels will be charged tolls to cross it could interfere with negotiations to forge a lasting peace.
June 15, 2026
The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement Monday that would extend their shaky ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but significant challenges remain to ending the war, including whether Israel will continue its offensive in Lebanon.
June 11, 2026
Oil futures ticked up Thursday morning as Iran and the United States traded strikes and counterstrikes, with renewed threats of violence prompting energy traders to consider timing predictions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
June 4, 2026
Iran’s Tasmin News Agency reported following the US firing a Hellfire missile at the engine room of the VLCC Lexie on 2 June it had targeted the MSC Panaya with navy missiles. It described the vessel as belonging to the “American Zionist” enemy which Iran has called MSC in previous attacks on its vessels.
June 1, 2026
The United States on Wednesday issued new Iran-related sanctions by adding the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to its Specially Designated Nationals list, the Treasury Department's website showed.
May 28, 2026
Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to only a few mostly Iran-linked vessels crossing on May 27, underscoring the stop-start nature of traffic through the world’s most vital energy chokepoint.
May 21, 2026
Iran is discussing with Oman how to set up some form of a permanent toll system that will formalize its control of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
May 14, 2026
Iran has expanded its definition for the area it considers to be a part of the Strait of Hormuz, having widened it to an operational zone that stretches from the city of Jask along its southeast coast, to Siri Island at the west end of the strait.
May 11, 2026
After Iran announced its plan to charge for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in March, a plethora of scam operators popped up to offer fraudulent paperwork in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. That problem may now have a solution, though not the one that the shipping community would prefer: Iran has launched an official "Persian Gulf Strait Authority" with its own formal email address, providing owners with a verifiable single window for arranging transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.
May 8, 2026
Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has jolted the world economy, causing a spike in fuel prices that has rippled through other sectors with effects far beyond the Middle East. It has also left tens of thousands of mariners and hundreds of ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.