Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stood at well below 10 per cent of normal volumes on Thursday despite a US-Iran ceasefire as Tehran asserted its control by warning ships to keep to its territorial waters while doing so.
Hundreds of tankers and other ships have been stuck inside the Persian Gulf since the Iran war began on Feb 28, cutting global oil supply by 20 per cent in the world's biggest-ever supply disruption.
Prices for some physical oil grades hit fresh all-time highs on Thursday as the crisis showed little signs of abating.
Iran must open the strait without conditions, the CEO of UAE state oil giant ADNOC said on Thursday.
Just seven ships had passed through the strait in the past 24 hours versus about 140 normally, ship-tracking data showed.
They included one oil products tanker and six dry bulk carriers, data from Kpler, Lloyd’s List Intelligence and Signal Ocean showed.
A chemical tanker was set to cross destined for India, ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic and Pole Star Global platforms showed.
"Most shipping lines are likely to remain cautious, and two weeks will not be enough to clear the backlog even if there is a marked increase in traffic," said Torbjorn Soltvedt at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have told vessels to sail through Iranian waters around Larak Island to avoid the risk of naval mines in the usual lanes through the strait, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
Vessels are to enter the strait north of Larak Island and exit just south of it until further notice in coordination with the IRGC's navy, Tasnim quoted the IRGC as saying.
Risks persist for ships not authorised by Iran, particularly those affiliated with Israel and the US, British maritime security company Ambrey said in an advisory.
"Even shipping with apparent approval has been turned back in recent weeks mid-transit," it said.
Media reports have suggested that Iran might want to charge a toll for ships passing through, some pinning the figure at $2 million, and ship-tracking data has shown some vessels are already taking the unusual route around Larak Island.
Western leaders have pushed back on the idea of paying any such fees.
Indian-flagged Pine Gas LPG tanker recently took the unusual route around the Larak Island to exit the gulf. The company did not pay Iran a toll to transit and the vessel was not boarded by IRGC, its chief officer, Sohan Lal, told Reuters.
The UN's shipping agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), said there was no international agreement where tolls can be introduced for transiting international straits.
"Any such toll will set a dangerous precedent," an IMO spokesperson said on Thursday.
Iran will demand toll payments in cryptocurrency to retain control over Hormuz during the two-week ceasefire, the Financial Times newspaper quoted Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, as saying on Wednesday.
Mitsui OSK Lines, one of Japan’s big three shipping firms, has managed to bring three tankers out of the strait in recent days.
The company is awaiting guidance from the Japanese Government on how to proceed under the two-week ceasefire, its president and CEO, Jotaro Tamura, told Reuters on Thursday.
India has granted waivers to allow two Iranian cargoes aboard an older tanker and another under sanctions to enter its ports, two officials familiar said on Thursday.
They included one loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for cooking. India is facing its worst gas crisis in decades and has introduced rationing to ensure households are supplied.
The United States issued a surprise waiver on Iranian oil exports last month which is due to end on April 19 in a bid to support global supply and ease fuel price rises.
Since Feb 28, at least 23 Iranian-flagged tankers have reached Asia, keeping up their pace from pre-war levels, according to US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related traffic.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Ahmad Ghaddar, Siyi Liu and Aizhu Chen; writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Alex Richardson and Jason Neely)