Japan warned of a long-term restoration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz

The full restoration of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz may take several months, even if the peace agreement between the United States and Iran is respected due to the presence of mines in the maritime corridor. This was announced on June 29 by the executive director of the Japanese shipping company NYK Line, Takeya Soga.

"The routes available for navigation are extremely limited — these are very narrow corridors. <...> We are still far from returning to the conditions that existed before the closure of the Strait of Hormuz," he said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

According to Sogi, even after the opening of the strait, the volume of traffic for some time will be less than half of the pre-war level. He explained this by saying that only two narrow routes remain safe off the coasts of Iran and Oman, whose capacity is significantly lower than usual."Газета.Ru ".

The head of NYK Line stressed that his forecast is not based on accurate calculations, but on the current assessment of the situation, however, the industry will need time to recover.

FT also quotes the words of the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, who said that Iran allegedly planted about 80 sea mines in the main navigable waterways of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the newspaper, if most of them are on the seabed, their detection and neutralization will be much more difficult than in the case of contact mines.

A senior representative of the maritime security services interviewed by the newspaper noted that detonating even one modern mine could cause serious damage to a vessel. According to him, such munitions are usually triggered under the hull of a ship and are equipped with magnetic, acoustic or hydrostatic sensors.

Michael Aldwell, executive vice president of logistics company Kuehne+Nagel, told the FT that serious disruptions in maritime transportation remain in the region. At the same time, he expressed confidence that the probability of a complete restoration of navigation after the opening of the strait exceeds 90%, since alternative overland routes for the delivery of goods to the region remain economically impractical.

Counter risk: Iran may block the Strait of Hormuz again

The fragile agreements between Washington and Tehran are on the verge due to Israel's tough stance.

On June 26, US President Donald Trump announced that Iran had violated the ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the American leader, the Islamic Republic fired at least four drones at ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the drones hit the upper deck of a cargo ship.

Later, Trump criticized Iran for the incident, noting that he "doesn't like it" and Tehran "shouldn't do that." However, he did not specify whether the United States would give any response to the republic's actions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stressed that any interference in the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would lead to an escalation in the waters.