According to Lloyd's List news, Tehran has established a "safe maritime corridor" in its territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing ships that have been appraised to pass through after approval.
The report said that many countries, including India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia and China, are directly exchanging with Iran about plans to move ships.
During this process, officials of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) established a preliminary ship registration system for ships approved to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure a safe journey.
India - a country that is directly negotiating with Iran on ensuring the safety of ships - has identified 22 ships to be moved. Previously, 2 Indian ships, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, arrived in the country after passing through the Ormuz Strait, which is being affected by the conflict.
Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, although still limited, shows that an Indian LPG tanker has followed an unusual route around Iran's Larak Island and entered Iranian territorial waters for the IRGC Navy and port authority to visually confirm the ship's identity" - Mr. Richard Meade, Editor-in-Chief of Lloyd's List Intelligence, shared.
According to Lloyd's List Intelligence, at least 9 ships have passed through the "safe" corridor established by Iran.
Meanwhile, British media on March 20 analyzed data and found that less than 100 ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of March amid an attack on ships in the area.
Although energy and essential goods still circulate through one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, daily traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has decreased by about 95% since the Iranian conflict broke out on February 28. Before the conflict, there were about 138 ships passing through this strait every day, transporting about 1/5 of the global oil supply, according to the United Maritime Information Center.
Data from maritime transport analysis firm Kpler shows that from the beginning of March to now, only 99 ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to an average of 5-6 ships/day. About 1/3 of recent trips have been carried out by ships linked to Iran. Among them, 14 ships fly Iranian flags and many others are being sanctioned for suspected involvement in Tehran's oil trading activities. There are 9 more ships belonging to companies with addresses related to China, while 6 ships have destinations in India.
The analysis also showed that some ships unrelated to Iran had docked at the country's port, including ships owned by Greek companies.
Some ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz successfully but seemed to have chosen a longer-than-normal route. Data tracking a Pakistani-flagged oil tanker shows that when passing through the strait on March 15, the ship went close to the Iranian coast instead of the usual mid-route.
Mr. Bradley Martin - senior researcher at RAND Corporation - said that the ship may be "following some instructions from Iran". This route may indicate the presence of naval mines or is a way for Iran to easily identify the ship.
According to Arun Dawson from the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King’s College, the combination of threats - drones, missiles, fast attack ships and even naval mines - is creating serious challenges for maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
