First LNG Tanker Transits Hormuz After US-Iran Deal; Shipping Industry Remains Cautious
Taylor Wilson
After the US-Iran agreement, only one vessel — India's LNG tanker *Disha* — transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the sole ship to pass that day. The industry is waiting for the June 19 formal signing and mine-clearance authorization before committing; freight rates remain elevated.
A deal was struck — why did only one ship move?
India's Petronet LNG tanker *Disha* sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the first vessel to transit since the US-Iran agreement.
It was also the only one that day. This means → most shipowners still do not consider the waterway safe; the agreement alone is not enough.
*Disha* had been waiting west of the strait for over three months after loading cargo at Qatar's Ras Laffan. The shipment is bound for India's Dahej terminal.
What exactly are shipowners waiting for?
A formal memorandum of understanding is scheduled for signing on June 19 in Switzerland, covering key provisions including mine-clearance authorization.
In plain terms = the deal is still a verbal framework; mine-sweeping has not begun, mines may still be in the water, and shipowners will not gamble on that.
The Japanese Shipowners' Association said plainly: "There are reports that mines have been laid in the area — you cannot simply announce 'set sail' on the back of an agreement."
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was even firmer: "Our policy is unchanged — we resume only after safety is fully confirmed."
How many ships are backed up on both sides?
Kpler data shows roughly 155 tankers and chemical carriers in the Gulf region as of June 15, down from 201 at end-May.
Oil Brokerage's estimate runs higher, at about 215 vessels. Both figures point to the same conclusion: a large fleet remains parked in the waiting zone.
An additional ~60 VLCCs have pre-positioned within a few days' sailing west of Hormuz, ready to transit once cleared.
When will freight rates come down?
Oil Brokerage's global shipping research head Anoop Singh expects it will take several weeks of free passage to build broader market confidence.
This means → physical freight rates will likely stay elevated in the near term, and trading will remain sluggish.
He added that once unrestricted transit resumes, the backlog on both sides could clear in 8 to 10 days.
In plain terms = the congestion is real, but the bottleneck is not physical capacity — it is the question of when the gate opens.
What is the next checkpoint to watch?
Whether the June 19 signing in Switzerland proceeds on schedule is the first test.
After that, when mine-clearance operations begin and conclude will be the signal shipowners actually act on.
This reflects a broader reality: geopolitical agreements do not restore shipping lanes on their own — real-world safety clearance sits between the paper and the passage.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.