Hormuz transits still limited even as Iran, Oman near deal; carriers eye return to Suez route¶
inInternational Shipping News28/08/2026
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remined limited on Wednesday even as Iran and Oman were heard to be close to an agreement to manage traffic through the vital waterway, while some container shipping majors are nearing a full return to the shorter Asia-Europe route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
France-based data and analytics firm Kpler said only five vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on 25 August, down from seven the previous day.
Kpler said all five ships used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, with two entering the Persian Gulf and three exiting into the Gulf of Oman. Four of the ships were classified as shadow vessels and one as sanctioned.
According to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, Iran and Oman have been in negotiations for the past month and have reached conclusions that have been accepted by both sides.
Fars quoted the spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as saying that Iran could reopen the Strait if the US stopped obstructing the process and accepted the Islamic Republic’s conditions.
The Fars X account said an Indian oil tanker, Haana, was headed into the Persian Gulf through the southern route, or the Oman Corridor, on Wednesday, but turned around after a warning from the IRGC.
“No traffic has been observed in the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours,” Fars said in the post.
According to the Strait of Hormuz tracker, a free, real-time dashboard that tracks the ongoing crisis using AI-powered analysis of current Strait conditions, insurance markets and diplomatic developments using real-time web data and AIS data for vessel positions, three vessels have transited the Strait over the past 24 hours.
The closure has had less impact on container shipping, as less than 2% of global container capacity passes through the Strait each year, but has contributed to higher rates because of surging bunker fuel prices.
FULL RETURN TO SUEZ ROUTE IMMINENT?A full return of commercial shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal appears more likely as multiple carriers have announced partial returns of services through the trade lane.
It has been almost three years since commercial shipping lines began avoiding the Red Sea/Suez Canal trade lane, a much shorter route for trade between Europe and Asia, because of attacks on vessels from Yemen-backed Houthi rebels.
Recently, the Houthis said they will continue attacks on Saudi oil tankers passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Gulf of Aden, which made a return to the Suez trade lane seem less likely.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is the third busiest oil chokepoint behind Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca with 9 million barrels/day of crude – about 10-12% of global seaborne oil trade – transiting daily.
But Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has officially announced a partial return to a Suez route on the Asia-Europe trade lane.
In July, global container shipping majors Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are shifting an Asia-Europe service in the Gemini network back through the Red Sea and Suez Canal,
Lars Jensen, president of consultancy firm Vespucci Maritime, said the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, and the Ocean Alliance (formed by CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, and OOCL) also are offering partial operations through the Suez
“At this pace it might be reasonable to see a normalization by end-2026,” Jensen said. “This normalization can still involve a few services going around Africa for the carriers to absorb some of the resultant excess capacity being released.
A full return to the Suez Canal route for Asia-Europe trade would free up significant shipping capacity and put downward pressure on container rates, which are presently at their highest since 2024.
Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers – such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.
They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.Source: ICIS by Adam Yanelli,https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2026/08/26/11230662/hormuz-transits-still-limited-even-as-iran-oman-near-deal-carriers-eye-return-to-suez-route/
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