Tanker Giant Expects Weeks Before Ships Comfortably Cross Hormuz Again

The CEO of the world’s largest tanker operator by vessel count said that shipowners will not resume sailing through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, even after a US-Iran deal to reopen the waterway.

Mitsui OSK Lines CEO Jotaro Tamura said any agreement must prove “material” before shipping lines feel safe crossing. He estimated a return could take weeks or as long as a month.

Strait of Hormuz Return Hinges on a “Material” Deal, MOL CEO Says

The strait carried more than a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict erupted in late February. Daily transits have since collapsed sharply.

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🚢Hormuz "reopened"🚨Here's what the data actually shows.Between June 10-14, MarineTraffic recorded just 29 vessel crossings through the strait.Before the conflict: 150 transits per day.That's not a reopening, that's a trickle.It gets worse:→ 23 ships went west to… pic.twitter.com/hwpwGvX0VW

— Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) June 15, 2026

Tamura pointed to repeated false starts since the war began. Operators have learned caution from broken promises over the past few months.

“Given the experiences in the last couple of months, I think it’s reasonable to assume that it may take at least a couple of weeks or if not a month,” he told the Financial Times.

The CEO stressed that a signed agreement between governments would not be enough on its own. He argued the terms must hold up in practice and reflect actual conditions inside the Strait of Hormuz. Only then, he said, would shipping lines feel secure enough to send vessels through.

MOL operates more than 900 ships. The company moved four vessels out of the Gulf before the deal and paid no fees to Iran. At least seven of its ships still wait to transit.

Some cargoes are already moving, however. India’s flagged LNG tanker Disha became the first Indian vessel to clear the strait after the pact, carrying 62,370 tonnes of gas. Officials said 10 India-flagged and five foreign-flagged ships have now crossed.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟔𝟐,𝟑𝟕𝟎 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐍𝐆 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨, 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐳.LNG carrier Disha has safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first Indian LNG tanker to cross… pic.twitter.com/aiYMbgFLsT

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 16, 2026

The agreement is expected to be signed on Friday in Geneva. How quickly traffic normalizes will depend on whether owners trust the corridor enough to follow.

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