Business19 September, 20262 min read
Iranian Armed Forces Target 19 Violator Ships in Strait of Hormuz Over Two Nights
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Iranian forces targeted 19 violator ships over two nights in the Strait of Hormuz. Last night: seven ships targeted; the night before: twelve ships targeted.
31 outlets told this the same way.
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Hormuz Confrontations
Iranian Armed Forces confronted ships attempting to pass through unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz over the past two nights, with Fars’ follow-up saying 7 ships were targeted last night and 12 violator ships were targeted the night before. اقتصاد آنلاین said the armed forces collided with 19 ships over two nights, adding that 7 ships were targeted the night before and 12 ships were targeted the night before that.
Iranian officials emphasized that ships passing through designated routes without Iran’s authorization would face a response from the armed forces, and the confrontation was described as coinciding with Trump’s claim about “America’s full control of the Strait of Hormuz.” PressTV said the Persian Gulf Strait Authority warned ship owners that some charterers were forcing vessels to use illegal routes, and it said such practices “risk financial and life losses for the vessel, owner, master, and crew.”
Traffic Falls, Costs Rise
Reuters data showed that ten commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, up from seven a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 17. Nine vessels entered the strait, including Supramax ships carrying metals, grain and other dry bulk cargoes, as well as an empty very large gas carrier, with one Supramax carrying fertilizer exiting as of 0423 GMT on Thursday.
Only nine commodity carriers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with the 10-day average at 18 and the situation described as a decline from double to single digits. The rate for a very large crude carrier on the route from the Persian Gulf to China hit an all-time high of $1.27 million this Monday before retreating modestly to $1.26 million.
Reopening, Conditions, Stakes
Iran closed the chokepoint following the launch of the latest round of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression on February 28, and the Islamic Republic and the United States agreed on a 60-day reopening period as part of a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding in June.
Iran devised the PGSA towards implementation of the understanding, but American violations forced the country to reestablish the closure, and Tehran conditioned reopening on realization of a number of prerequisites.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded to a September 17 JPMorgan report, with Ghalibaf writing on X, “This endgame cannot be modeled. It will be opened, and Iran's hand is already on the lever,” and JPMorgan saying, “For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don't have a baseline view.”
US Central Command redirected 109 commercial vessels to ensure compliance by September 20, and QatarEnergy chief executive Saad al-Kaabi warned that disruption to shipments of critical equipment could delay the country’s expansion plans.