On Saturday, delegations from Iran and the United States will meet in Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks. From a global economic perspective, the issue surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is of utmost importance. After the agreement on a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday night, only a handful of ships have been able to pass through. The Swedish tanker company Stena Bulk is among those that still have ships stuck in the Persian Gulf.
"It's a long way to go, but I'm still cautiously optimistic about what's going on right now. We'll see what the next few days bring. We're far from having any structure in place for how it will work in practice to transit the Strait of Hormuz," Erik Hånell tells TT.
The ships that have now passed through have done so via a waterway near Iran. These ships have also had nationalities with links to Iran and have sailed under Russian, Chinese and Pakistani flags, for example.
Opening required
At the same time, President Donald Trump has demanded that the Strait of Hormuz be fully opened and questioned Iran's demand to be able to impose a form of customs fee on passing ships.
Singapore, among others, has also reacted to the demand and believes that it goes against the whole idea of international freedom of navigation supported by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Erik Hånell shares that view:
It is clear that this is completely wrong. Then we could levy tariffs in both the Sound and the Great Belt. It is not a long-term solution, but the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened to how it was before February 28, so that you can pass through without problems.
Strictly economic
Aside from the strictly economic perspective, there is also uncertainty for the crews on board the ships.
"We now have continuous contact with the crews and they are doing well under the circumstances. We have managed to supply them with food and from that point of view it is under control," says Erik Hånell.
He says Stena is also discussing making it easier for the crew by replacing crew members.
"I know that some shipowners who are in the same situation as us have made crew changes. We are looking into it and will do so if it continues for a longer period of time."
