Tanker Body Says 80 Mines Still Block Hormuz Center, Delaying Reopening
A tanker owner trade body says the center of the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked by about 80 mines that will take 'some time' to clear, the Guardian reported Thursday.
Developing story — this page will be updated as information becomes available.
A tanker owner trade body says the center of the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked by approximately 80 mines and that normal shipping will not resume until they are cleared, the Guardian reported Thursday. The statement directly cuts against President Trump’s Tuesday pledge that the strait would be fully reopened by Friday on a permanent toll-free basis.
What we know
The tanker body told the Guardian that the center channel of the strait — the route used by deep-draft Very Large Crude Carriers — will remain closed “for some time,” and that vessels trying to detour through the Omani-side route risk running aground because of draft limits there. The figure of roughly 80 unswept mines was attributed to the same source. The Guardian framed the assessment as a direct challenge to the Friday timeline announced after the Versailles signing of the US-Iran MOU.
Separately, Bloomberg data cited by OilPrice on Thursday showed tankers carrying a combined 80 million barrels of crude staged to move through Hormuz following the preliminary deal. The queued cargo and the unswept-mine field describe the same chokepoint from two sides: the demand to transit is loaded, the channel is not yet clear.
What we don’t know
The tanker body’s full identity, the basis for the 80-mine count, and which navy or contractor is tasked with sweeping the field were not specified in the report seen at publication. NAVCENT and Iranian authorities have not issued a joint mine-clearance schedule on the record. Lloyd’s Joint War Committee has not posted a follow-up listing change since the MOU was signed. This story is developing.
Context
The reopening of Hormuz is the single most market-sensitive deliverable of the Geneva-Versailles track. Trump’s Tuesday remarks set Friday as the reopening date; the freight tape and AIS cadence were already the live test. A mine field that the tanker industry says will take “some time” to clear pushes the practical reopening past the political one, and reintroduces the risk premium the Versailles signature was supposed to remove.
What to watch
- Whether NAVCENT, Iran’s IRGC Navy, or a third-party clearance contractor publishes a sweep timeline before Friday’s market open.
- Lloyd’s Joint War Committee listing status for the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz — any downgrade would confirm insurer skepticism.
- Brent and VLCC time-charter equivalent rates on Friday — the freight tape will price the gap between the political pledge and the cleared channel.
RESULT_BREAKING_SLUG=hormuz-80-mines-block-shipping-tanker-body
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