Three shipping routes have emerged since the US-Iran agreement

The ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington stipulates that Iran will make “arrangements using its best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies travel.

The strait had been effectively closed by Iran since the US and Israel launched their joint attacks on the country in late February. Ensuring unobstructed transit through the waterway was Iran’s main concession to the US in ceasefire negotiations.

Three distinct routes for ships have now emerged in the narrow maritime corridor, with different authorities vying to organize the transit of dozens of vessels through the 21-mile-wide waterway.

One southern route goes through the waters off Oman; a second route, which was used before the war, passes through the middle of the strait; and a third route further north is controlled by Iran. This leaves vessel operators with a difficult choice over which path to take.

On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “any intervention or attempt to create parallel arrangements will only complicate the situation, increase tensions and delay the reopening of this vital waterway.”
Araghchi did not specify the “parallel arrangements” but a growing number of ships have sought to evade Iranian control of the passage by taking a southern route close to the Omani coast.

“All this is very confusing for safely navigating those waters,” Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of maritime risk consultancy Marisks told CNN, adding that “the current environment is extremely dangerous.”