When will Strait of Hormuz be ‘safe’ for commercial shipping again?
Key takeaways
- How long before insurance companies consider Hormuz transits safe again – even once navies claim they have cleared the mine there?
- The tremors from the effective closure of the strait – a narrow artery linking oil and gas producers in the Gulf to the open seas – are being felt across the world, stoking fears of a global recession.
- About 2,000 ships remain stranded in the Gulf, waiting to be allowed through.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
How long before insurance companies consider Hormuz transits safe again – even once navies claim they have cleared the mine there?
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The Epaminondas ship is seen during seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, on April 24, 2026 [Meysam Mirzadeh/Tasnim/WANA via Reuters]By Yashraj Sharma Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026Since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran nine weeks ago, the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is shipped during peacetime, has become the chokepoint of the global economy.
The tremors from the effective closure of the strait – a narrow artery linking oil and gas producers in the Gulf to the open seas – are being felt across the world, stoking fears of a global recession.