The Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has declared that the Strait of Hormuz has been fully opened to all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the current ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States.
Taking to X, Araghchi posted: “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”
The current ceasefire is due to end on April 21.
In response to the news, the markets quickly reacted with the price of oil plummeting on global stock exchanges. It remains to be seen, however, whether U.S. Central Command will lift its own blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
Another big unknown is whether commercial shipping companies have enough confidence to take advantage of this statement and start moving hundreds of stranded ships from the Persian Gulf through the Strait and onwards to their intended destinations.
Iran has created a safe passage route, and some shipping lanes through the Strait remain unavailable due to the risk of mines.
The news comes just a day after the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that Europe might run out of jet fuel within six weeks, leading to mass flight cancellations and travel disruption.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told the AP news agency on Thursday that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left.”
Europe gets most of its jet fuel supply from Persian Gulf refineries. The supply of jet fuel from the Middle East to Europe has been cut off since February 28, when Iran shuttered the Strait of Hormuz in response to joint US and Israeli strikes on the country.
Willie Walsh, who is the Director General of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), described Birol’s assessment as “sobering.”
Walsh said on Friday: “We have also estimated that by the end of May we could start to see some cancellations in Europe for lack of jet fuel. This is already happening in parts of Asia.”
IATA called on governments to do more to secure alternative supplies of jet fuel, while also demanding that so-called ‘slot rules’ be eased, allowing airlines to cancel flights without fear of losing highly sought-after takeoff and landing ‘slots’ at congested airports like London Heathrow.
A growing number of airlines in Europe are posting flight cancellations on short-haul flights, including the likes of British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and SAS.
Some of these cancellations are due to the potential availability of jet fuel in the weeks ahead, although the main driving force at the moment is down to the surging cost of jet fuel, which has made some flights prohibitively expensive to operate.
Low-cost, long-haul airline Norse Atlantic has completely suspended its route between London Gatwick and Los Angeles for the summer, citing the cost of jet fuel for the cancellations.
