Ships U-turn at Hormuz as Iran forces traffic onto its own route

On July 4, at least eight ships approaching the Strait of Hormuz turned back near the tip of Oman's Musandam Peninsula. Some finished their crossing by switching to a route along the Iranian coast instead. Neither option was the one they planned.

Eight. That's how many Bloomberg tracked between Friday and Saturday, making sharp reversals before they could clear the chokepoint. Windward Daily Intelligence confirmed six ships diverting or reversing course in the southern corridor on July 4, with IRGC patrol boats and high-speed craft confirmed operating in the strait. One was a crude tanker, two were products tankers, and one was a bulk carrier; those four eventually took the Iran-side outbound route.

Mariners have been reporting VHF radio warnings from Iran's Revolutionary Guard for weeks. Pay up or turn back. The warnings direct ships to seek permission from Tehran before crossing. Those who have pressed on without it have sometimes been attacked.

The U-turns on July 4 came two days after US-Iran talks in Doha ended with no agreement on who controls passage through the Strait. Iran has insisted since the June 17 ceasefire that ships must use lanes it designates. It plans to charge transit fees once the 60-day toll-free window expires around mid-August. The US and European governments have rejected both the route restrictions and the fee plans.

Traffic through the Strait has never fully recovered from the 110-day closure. It climbed to around 40 ships on June 30, then fell again after attacks on two ships in late June. July 4 added more evidence that the ceasefire has not produced reliable open access.