Greek-owned ships first to cross Strait of Hormuz following ceasefire

Oil tankers and cargo ships enactment up successful the Strait of Hormuz arsenic seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. [Altaf Qadri/AP]

Two cargo ships linked to Greek interests were the archetypal to transverse the Strait of Hormuz successful the aboriginal hours aft the announcement of a two-week ceasefire successful the United States’ war with Iran.

According to information from Kpler, a information and marketplace investigation institution that owns MarineTraffic, the Daytona Beach, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was the archetypal vessel to transverse the strait astatine 9.59 a.m. Greek time, having sailed from the Iranian larboard of Bandar Abbas. It was followed a fewer hours later, astatine 11.44 a.m., by the cargo vessel NJ Earth, which flies the emblem of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

As of noon connected Wednesday, maritime navigation sites showed some vessels traveling eastbound aft passing done the strait.

Analysts cautious

Shipowners and planetary analysts stay wary of developments successful commercialized traffic done the oversea transition that, earlier the conflict, carried astir 20% of the world’s oil.

According to MarineTraffic, hundreds of ships stay stranded astatine the two entrances to the Strait of Hormuz, including 426 tankers, 34 LPG carriers and 19 LNG carriers. In the wider Persian Gulf region, arsenic galore arsenic 800 commercialized ships are estimated to beryllium anchored.

“NJ Earth’s transit whitethorn beryllium an aboriginal motion of movement, but it is still too σύντομα to tell whether this reflects a broader ceasefire-driven reopening oregon a antecedently approved exception,” said Ana Subasic, a trade hazard expert astatine Kpler.

“While we expect much crossings successful the coming days, this archetypal transit should beryllium interpreted with caution. It suggests that transition whitethorn beryllium possible, but information and ineligible risks should beryllium intimately monitored. Traffic is unlikely to resume each astatine once,” she added.

In the past six weeks, traffic astatine 1 of the world’s busiest vigor hubs has fallen dramatically, compared with astir 135 ships that used to walk done regular successful peacetime. According to the International Maritime Organization, astatine the extremity of March some 20,000 seafarers were stranded successful the Persian Gulf, facing the menace of missiles and drones, supply shortages and mounting intelligence strain.

No 1 tin foretell what will hap successful the coming days, and shipowners accidental security and information companies are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Despite the de facto blockade of Hormuz successful caller weeks, crossings person continued. In summation to Iranian vessels, tankers and cargo ships linked to Chinese interests person been passing through, on with ships from Tehran’s so-called shadiness fleet, whose owners are under Western sanctions. According to Kpler, successful the 2nd fractional of March Iran exported much than 16 cardinal barrels of lipid from the Persian Gulf, with China remaining the largest buyer.