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Japan warns Strait of Hormuz is off-limits amid renewed tensions

A Japan Foreign Trade Council chair said rerouting tankers and container ships via the Cape of Good Hope could raise transport costs by more than 30% while the Strait remains at a “severe” threat level.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is again off-limits in the near term as renewed hostilities and threats to vessels have increased the risks of transiting the key tanker and container route, according to Masahiro Okafuji, chair of the Japan Foreign Trade Council.

Okafuji told a media conference that “no one would go there” because it is dangerous, and said that renewed rerouting around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope would increase transportation costs by more than 30%, according to OilPrice.

The Joint Maritime Information Center, or JMIC, reaffirmed on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz threat level remains “severe,” after it was raised last week following early signs of the collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

JMIC said mariners should expect sustained naval presence, increased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps hailing and monitoring, and possible diversions of AIS-equipped vessels to a northern Iranian-controlled route, while force protection measures and congestion near anchorage areas should also be anticipated, OilPrice added.

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