NEW YORK CITY, New York: Global shipping companies are facing mounting costs and uncertainty as hundreds of vessels remain stranded near the Strait of Hormuz more than two months into the Iran war, with no clear timeline for a full reopening of the critical trade route.
Conflicting signals from Washington and continuing security threats in the region have left ship operators struggling to assess whether it is safe to resume normal traffic through one of the world's most important energy corridors.
Over the weekend, U.S.
President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom," an initiative aimed at helping ships leave the strait under U.S.
Two ships completed the transit before the effort was abruptly paused on Tuesday to allow room for negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
Despite the move, major shipping firms say the route remains highly dangerous.
French shipping giant CMA CGM Group said one of its container vessels was damaged during an attack while attempting to transit the strait.
"Ultimately, it's still going to come back to the primary issues of risk and safety," said Sean Pribyl, a maritime attorney at Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C.
"It seems as though we're not anywhere near to returning to a free flow of traffic and navigation through the strait," he added.
Before the war, between 100 and 135 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence.
Traffic has since slowed sharply as Iran introduced a vetting system overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for ships seeking safe passage.....
