Strait of Hormuz not open, restricting access: UAE oil CEO

The Strait of Hormuz has not opened to ship traffic after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, said the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, on Thursday.

“This moment requires clarity,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber in a social media post. “So let’s be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled.”

Iran has made clear that ships must obtain its permission to pass through the strait, Al Jaber said. “That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion,” the ADNOC chief said.

ADNOC is the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company. The UAE is the third-largest oil producer in OPEC, pumping 3.4 million barrels per day before the war broke out on Feb. 28

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire was subject to Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

But ship traffic through the strait has not picked up since the ceasefire took effect, freight analysts have told CNBC. Traffic remains at the slow trickle that has been observed during most of the war, they said.

Iran’s military command said Wednesday that it will “manage and intelligently control the Strait of Hormuz,” according to state-owned Press TV.

Oil tanker traffic through the strait plunged during the war due to Iranian attacks on vessels, triggering the largest oil supply disruption in history. The strait connects oil producers in the Persian Gulf to the global market. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the narrow sea route before the war.

The final oil cargoes that transited the strait before the war are now arriving at their destinations, Al Jaber said. The oil futures market, which plunged after the ceasefire announcement, will soon meet the physical reality of the supply disruption, he said.

“Every day the Strait remains restricted, the consequences compound,” the CEO said. “Supply is delayed, markets tighten, prices rise. The impact is felt beyond energy markets, in economies, industries and households worldwide. Every day matters. Every delay deepens the disruption.”

Some 230 tankers are loaded with oil and waiting to sail out of the Gulf, Al Jaber said.

The strait is a natural passage governed by international law that “guarantees transit as a matter of right; not a privilege to be granted, withheld or weaponized,” he said.

“Stability now depends on restoring real flows,” the CEO said. “Not partial access, not temporary measures, not controlled passage, but full and reliable supply.”