Strait of Hormuz disruptions escalate

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on April 27 as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely constrained. (en.kremlin.ru) (nytimes.com) The Kremlin said Putin received Araghchi, whom it identified as Iran’s special representative, after Moscow arranged the meeting at Tehran’s request within three days. (en.kremlin.ru) (tass.com) The diplomacy came after a fragile April ceasefire failed to restore normal passage through Hormuz, with The Associated Press reporting Iran tied any reopening to a U.S. end to the war and blockade. (apnews.com) (news.un.org) Lloyd’s List reported on April 27 that traffic through Hormuz more than halved last week after Iran reinstated restrictions and tensions escalated into vessel attacks and seizures. (lloydslist.com) Its April 28 coverage said only a trickle of non-Iranian ships was still willing to transit, while more than 40 container ships remained marooned by the fallout. (lloydslist.com 1) (lloydslist.com 2) The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman that links the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says about 20.9 million barrels a day moved through it in the first half of 2025, roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption. (eia.gov) The International Energy Agency says around 20 million barrels a day of oil and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade normally pass through the strait, with about 80% of the oil headed to Asia. (iea.org) (eia.gov) That leaves little room to reroute cargoes. The International Energy Agency estimates only 3.5 million to 5.5 million barrels a day of pipeline capacity can bypass Hormuz. (iea.org) The agency said this month that disrupted Hormuz traffic had already created the largest supply shock in the history of the global oil market and pushed crude above $100 a barrel. (iea.org 1) (iea.org 2) For now, the story is not a single closure order but a prolonged choke on movement: diplomacy in St. Petersburg, a ceasefire that did not normalize shipping, and a waterway still too risky for many ships to use. (en.kremlin.ru) (apnews.com) (lloydslist.com)