Hormuz | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Despite the volatile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping movement rem­ains normal in Pakistan, and oil tankers continue to arrive in the country bringing fuel supplies. After discharging crude oil brought from Fujairah, UAE, the marine tanker (MT) Sargodha, owned by the Pakistan National Shipping Company (PNSC), at Karachi port, two more are expected to berth, bringing petroleum fuel. The three tankers expected to berth at Karachi port include MT Shalimar and MT Lahore, both belonging to the PNSC, to discharge crude oil. Meanwhile, MT Martini is expected to berth at Karachi port on Monday evening (today) for the loading of surplus ‘fuel oil’ produced in Pakistan. Three PNSC tankers carrying crude likely to dock today Fuel oil is a liquid petroleum by-product derived from crude oil distillation, consisting of long-chain hydrocarbons used primarily for heating, power generation, and marine engines. Other tankers, including MT Hafnia Henriette and MT Wan HE, have berthed at Karachi port to loa...

New Delhi on Saturday summoned Iran’s ambassador to convey the country’s “deep concern” after two Indian-flagged vessels were shot at near the Strait of Hormuz, India’s foreign ministry said. In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Iran’s Ambassador to India Dr Mohammad Fathali was summoned “for a meeting with [the] foreign secretary this evening”. During the meeting, the foreign secretary “conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”, the MEA said. “He noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India.” Reiterating his concern at “this serious incident of firing on merchant ships”, the foreign secretary urged the ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the strait”. Th...

A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again. The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”. Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the war to protest an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments. During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early on Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated. However, tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but then turned back near Iran’s Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under Iranian forces’ blockade of the passage. Screengrab...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, vital for the global trade in oil and other commodities, was open following a ceasefire accord agreed in Lebanon. Araqchi said in a post on X that the Strait was open for all commercial vessels for the “remaining period of ceasefire”. It was not immediately clear whether he was speaking of the 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8. He said the passage of ships would need to be along the route that Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation had announced. US President Donald Trump welcomed Iran’s announcement. “THANK YOU!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, before going on a posting spree. In a separate post, he said that the US military blockade of ships sailing through the Strait to Iranian ports — announced after talks with Iran last weekend in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough — remained in place. “T...

A Pakistani-flagged oil tanker, MT Shalamar, has successfully completed a rare transit through the Strait of Hormuz with a crude oil cargo amid ongoing maritime tensions and restrictions in the region, according to international shipping data.

A Pakistan-flagged tanker has become the first crude carrier to exit through the Strait of Hormuz with a cargo since a US blockade began earlier this week, in a rare passage that underlines how restricted traffic remains through the vital chokepoint.

Pakistan has called for the immediate restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning at the United Nations that ongoing disruptions are affecting global trade, energy supplies and vulnerable populations.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump stepped in to raise the stakes of an already volatile standoff, announcing that the United States Navy would begin “BLOCKADING” the Strait of Hormuz — delivered, in classic Trump fashion, the emphatic all-caps. The deadline passed at 7pm (PST) on Monday. The developments came after a night of diplomacy in Islamabad that promised more than it delivered, with inconclusive takeaways and very little to show for 21 hours of deliberations. The negotiations ended with a terse briefing from JD Vance, confirming what everyone had been hoping to avoid: nothing had been agreed. Judging from the string of off-the-cuff, rhetorically charged posts on Trump’s Truth Social feed, he appears to have revived what once again looks like the ‘madman theory’ — using brinkmanship and unpredictability as a strategic bargaining chip. He seems to be signalling that if Iran can rattle markets by blocking one of the world’s primary energy arteries, Washington can rattle them harder. The rationale is pret...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the two-week ceasefire with the US, and warned that it would be dealt with harshly and decisively. “The strait is under the control and smart management of Iran’s Navy,” the Guards said in a statement reported by Iranian state media, adding it is “open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations”. The IRGC has also warned that enemies would be trapped in its “deadly vortex” in case of any miscalculation. “All traffic … is under the full control of the armed forces,” the Guards naval command said in a Persian language post on X. “The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the strait if it makes the wrong move,” it added, posting a video showing vessels in crosshairs. The IRGC’s warning came after US President Donald Trump, in a surprise announcement, said the United States Navy would begin the p...

Iran denies US claim of 'clearing out' Strait of Hormuz

Two US Navy warships transited the Strait of Hormuz at the start of an operation to clear the strategic waterway of mines laid by Iran, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday. The announcement — which marks the first such transit since the US-Israeli war on Iran began — came shortly after President Donald Trump said Washington had started “clearing out” the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper. The USS Frank E Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but Centcom said that “additional US forces including underwater drones” could join the effort in coming days. Earlier, US media outlet Axios reported that the operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran. “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the...

Two ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway as part of a ceasefire deal, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said on Wednesday. “The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC”, MarineTraffic said on X. The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire, during which passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible via coordination with Iran’s armed forces”, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “NJ Earth’s transit may be an early sign of movement, but it is still too soon to tell whether this reflects a broader ceasefire-driven reopening or a previously approved exception,” Ana Subasic, analyst at MarineTraffic owner Kpler told AFP. The Greek-owned ship kept its transponder signal on as it transited the strait via an Iranian-approved route near Larak Island, use...

WASHINGTON: Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while Pakistan abstained. The draft resolution prepared by Bahrain, which underwent six revisions during negotiations to bridge differences among council members, received 11 votes in favour, two against and two abstentions. Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, Somalia, the United Kingdom and the United States voted in favour of the resolution. Russia and China voted against the measure, exercising their veto power as permanent members of the 15-nation UNSC, thereby blocking its adoption despite majority support. Pakistan and Colombia were the two countries that abstained from voting. Drafted by Bahrain in coordination with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Jordan, the resolution strongly urged nations using the commercial route to coordinate defensive measures — including escorting merchant vessels — to...

China, Russia block UNSC move on Hormuz

WASHINGTON: The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a Bahrain-drafted resolution on the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, just hours before US President Donald Trump’s self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic waterway. The resolution, drafted by Bahrain in coordination with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Jordan, strongly encourages states using commercial routes in the Strait to coordinate defensive measures to ensure safe navigation, including escorting merchant vessels. It demands that Iran immediately cease attacks on commercial ships and civilian infrastructure, including oil, gas, and water installations. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for roughly 20 per cent of global oil consumption and a quarter of maritime-traded oil, has seen rising tensions since US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets on February 28. Iran retaliated against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases, including reported attacks on commercial vessels and the deployment of naval mines. While...

• Trump warns power plants, bridges to be attacked on Tuesday, hopeful for Hormuz deal; Iran wants world to ‘act now’ to prevent ‘war crime’ • Iranian official says Hormuz strait will be opened only after payment of war damages • China, Russia call for ceasefire; Lavrov tells Washington to abandon ‘language of ultimatums’ • IRGC bombs petrochemical facility in Israel as US strikes target Ahvaz airport WASHINGTON: The US-Israel war with Iran raged on Sunday amid no signs of a ceasefire despite threats by US President Donald Trump, who warned that the US would target power plants and bridges in the besieged country if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened up by Monday. Iran said the statement, which was also denounced in the US, made by the US president was a “clear evidence of intent to commit war crime” and asked the inte­rnational community to prevent this atrocious act from happening. For almost six weeks, the US and Israeli jets have bombed the length and breadth of Iran, targeting civilian and military infr...

LONDON: Four ships, including one co-owned by a Japanese company and one by a French company, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday as Iran said it is drafting a peacetime protocol to supervise maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. The near closing of the Strait due to US-Israeli war against Iran in Middle East has led to fuel shortages and soaring energy prices across the globe. The few vessels that have crossed the chokepoint have passed using an Iranian-approved route through its waters near Larak Island, dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth” by leading shipping journal Lloyd’s List. Two laden very large crude carrier (VLCC) — the Habrut and the Dhalkut — and one empty Sohar LNG tanker crossed the strait on Thursday morning. The Sohar LNG is the first LNG tanker to have crossed the strait since March 1, when Iranian attacks against ships near the Strait of Hormuz reduced crossings to a near stop. Earlier, a French-owned container ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according Marine Tra...

• Vote on Bahrain-led, US-backed resolution postponed twice • Russia, China raise objections to certain parts • Iran warns against ‘provocative move’ UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council remains sharply divided over a Gulf Arab initiative to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass. The vote on the resolution, initially scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed twice — first to Friday and then to Saturday — as Bahrain, the current council president and mover of the resolution, intensifies lobbying efforts. The United States has thrown its full support behind the measure. The push comes from member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and economic bloc comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. Formed in 1981 to coordinate security and economic policy among the Arab monarchies bordering the Persian Gulf, the GCC has increasingly acted collectively on regional cris...

The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday called for the UN Security Council to authorise the use of force to protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks. Iran has placed a stranglehold on the key shipping lane — threatening fuel supplies and buckling the global economy — in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on the country that triggered the month-old Middle East war. “Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, prevented commercial vessels and oil tankers from transiting, and imposed conditions on some to pass through the Strait,” said Jassem al-Budaiwi, head of the GCC. He spoke in New York at the first Security Council meeting on cooperation with the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. “We call upon the Security Council to assume its full responsibility and take all necessary measures to protect maritime routes and ensure the safe continuation of international navigation,” al-Budaiwi said. Bahrain has proposed a draft ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said late on Saturday that the government of Iran had agreed to allow “20 more ships under the Pakistani flag to pass through the Strait of Hormuz”. In a post on X, he said two ships will cross the Strait daily. “This is a welcome and constructive gesture by Iran and deserves appreciation. It is a harbinger of peace and will help usher stability in the region,” he said. “This positive announcement marks a meaningful step toward peace and will strengthen our collective efforts in that direction,” he said. “Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward,” he said. He also tagged US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the post. The world has been facing a global fuel crunch in the aftermath of a US-Israeli war on Iran, which has been going on for nearly a month. The fuel crisis has resulted from the disruption of traffic in...