Ships test ‘Iran-approved’ Hormuz corridor

• Ships use route by Larak Island
• Risks remain high
• Access could come at a cost

Ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz via an “Iran-approved” corridor close to Larak Island off the coast of Iran for verification checks, according to maritime news outlet Lloyd’s List.

At least nine vessels have recently been tracked taking the detour into Iranian waters, routing around the island in the northern part of the contested waterway. One ship paid $2 million to transit between the island and the mainland, the publication reported.

Speaking at Lloyd’s List weekly risk briefing on Thursday, editor-in-chief Richard Meade described the development as an “Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps registration and vetting” process being coordinated with a number of governments.

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Larak Island is in the Strait of Hormuz, south of Hormuz Island

“The emergence of an Iran-approved safe corridor suggests that vessel profiling is coming,” he said, adding a more formal vetting system was likely.

The maritime intelligence firm, founded in 1734, is one of the world’s oldest continuously running authorities on global shipping.

Both eastbound and westbound voyages have used the channel over the last few days, the briefing was told.

Meade said several governments, including China, India, Pakistan, Iraq and Malaysia, are in direct contact with Iran to coordinate vessel transits through the passageway.

“The system now is a little bit nascent. It’s not formalised, but we know that is coming.”

Meade said traffic using the route is directed towards the island – a major crude export point – for visual identification and possible radio confirmation.

“At least nine ships have already used this so-called corridor, which effectively routes ships close to Larak Island for visual checks by the IRGC Navy and port authorities,” he said.

“The fact that taking them through territorial waters, we understand, is for a visual eyeball on the ships, possibly with VHF [very high frequency radio] confirmation. But this is not a sophisticated spotting technology.”

He said a more formalised approach is expected: “That’s going to require from the ships that move through a more extensive disclosure of vessel ownership, cargo destination – they want to know the full details.”

There are also indications that access may come at a cost. Meade said one tanker operator is understood to have paid a fee to transit the strait, highlighting concerns that passage could become conditional.

“We know of at least one where payments have been given in order to exit,” he told the briefing of maritime industry leaders.

But he warned that any notion of guaranteed transit should be treated with scepticism.

“The idea that this approval guarantees safe passage should be treated with extreme caution.”

Meade said that even operators trading directly with Iran do not feel confident they can pass through the strait safely.

Risk levels for commercial shipping remain high, particularly for tankers tied to the conflict’s economic centre of gravity.

“The room for error remains huge. There is still an extreme risk to shipping, and certainly in terms of the risk profiling, crude tankers remain the highest-risk commercial category,” he said.

Further reading:

• Fujairah’s importance grows with each day Hormuz remains closed
• Oil seeps from the strait but returning full flow is far from easy
• UAE businesses scramble for Hormuz trade alternatives

Despite the emergence of the corridor, overall traffic through the strait remains severely constrained.

Around 2,500 vessels are crowded around the chokepoint. An estimated 250 of these ships are not being tracked because of spoofing, electronic interference or transponder deactivation.

“In total, we have seen less than a single day’s transit so far this month,” Meade said. “So Iran is continuing to control the strait and exit its own oil. Everything else is largely still at a standstill.”