'Start your engines'? Shipping groups wary on Hormuz reopening / Photo: © ISNA/AFP
-
Thailand slams chaotic Asian Games organisation as 'musical chairs'
-
Ex-NFL star Brown to take plea deal in shooting case: lawyer
-
North Korea to keep nuclear weapons 'forever': foreign minister
-
Malaysia's migrant return plan chills Myanmar Rohingya
-
Markets mixed as China's Xi arrives for US talks
-
Pakistan confirms Afghan strikes after resident says Kandahar hit
-
Swiss voters expected to shun stricter neutrality
-
Thousands missing, aid needs mount one month after Nepal's deadly floods
-
Rapper-turned-PM faces first big test after Nepal disaster
-
Nepal flood victims look to PM Shah to press climate case at UN
-
Tuchel seeks tonic to England World Cup 'scar' in Spain showdown
-
Trump admin says there were 8 suicide attempts on US aircraft carrier
-
'Helps me cope': Catholic baptisms rise among French youth
-
Iranian satire 'Head to Head' draws a veil over the men
-
Colombians in Santa Marta stay inside after violence wracks the city
-
Archaeological 'breakthrough' could confirm origins of Paris
-
Iran airlines cancel flights as US sanctions hit
-
Morocco elects new parliament with lowest turnout in nearly two decades
-
Meta launches camera-free AI glasses amid privacy pushback
-
North Korean IT contractor found remote work in New Zealand: agency
-
Australian PM says OpenAI hacked government health website
-
Anthropic touts AI-led biology discovery
-
Xi arrives in US to personal Trump welcome
-
Giants QB Dart to have season-ending surgery
-
Morocco elects new parliament amid social frustration, youth discontent
-
Venezuelan shot by ICE needs urgent surgery, mother tells AFP
-
Scheffler and Burns to face Im and Lee in Presidents Cup opener
-
Giants QB Dart to have season-ending surgery: reports
-
Crushing wins for Lyon and Barca in women's Champions League
-
Judge urged to lift Trump's White House ban on media outlets
-
Rio breaks record for rainiest September amid powerful El Nino
-
Stocks fall on soaring bond yields, higher oil prices
-
At UN, tech chiefs urge caution in AI development
-
US judge weighing Trump's White House ban on media outlets
-
Russian strikes kill seven in Ukraine, Zelensky vows winter campaign
-
At UN, OpenAI's Altman calls 'for extreme care' in AI
-
Venezuelan shot by ICE needs urgent medical care, mother tells AFP
-
Hamilton gives thumbs up to Gulf GPs despite Iran conflict
-
Zelensky says Putin using fighters from 47 countries in Ukraine war
-
Leclerc admits going 'too far' in Hamilton shunt in Italy
-
Klopp calls on Germany to 'rise above ourselves' as new era begins
-
Row engulfs Dolly Parton's estate as manager accuses nephew of making threats
-
Russian strikes kill seven in Ukraine as Russia vows no 'pause' to war
-
Mandela Digital Extends Early Access Programme to 11 February 2027 Following Strong Response
-
ArcPoint Expands Globally with Institutional Intelligence Platform for Modern Investors
-
US seeks 11th Presidents Cup win in a row over global foes
-
Ronaldo focussing on 'present' ahead of Wales test
-
McDonald's to boost franchisees as inflation weighs on consumers
-
Outgoing UN chief makes final climate push at New York summit
-
Trump invites Putin to G20 summit in Miami
'Start your engines'? Shipping groups wary on Hormuz reopening
Shipping groups warned Monday that it was too soon to start sailing through the Strait of Hormuz following US and Iranian promises that the trade route would reopen under their agreement to end the war.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday declared: "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!", as he announced the agreement to halt the conflict.
A "memorandum of understanding" between the two nations stipulated the "reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days", as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.
Hundreds of oil tankers and cargo ships have been stuck inside the Gulf since the war erupted on February 28. Iran has targeted ships and charged tolls for a small number to pass through the strait.
Shipping and seafarers' associations said leaders had not yet given enough detail to prompt the ships to start exiting.
They "do not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as timings and safe routes", Jakob Larsen, chief security officer at the shipping lobby BIMCO, said in a statement.
"We believe the security situation for the shipping industry remains volatile, and we still consider it very risky for ships to commence transits at this point," he said.
With the agreement scheduled to be signed on Friday, marine director Phillip Belcher of the tanker owners' association Intertanko said "a cautious approach should be undertaken" by ships.
In the same statement, the body's managing director Tim Wilkins urged the US and Iran to make the Strait of Hormuz "free from the threat of mines" laid by Iranian forces in the conflict.
The International Maritime Organization says 20,000 seafarers are stuck on ships in the region and 11 maritime workers have been killed.
It said Monday that it was "working with relevant countries, particularly Oman, Iran and the rest of the coastal States, on the safe route to be used for the evacuation of seafarers on trapped vessels and for trade to resume".
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) cautioned that "The backlog of stranded vessels and the need for crew changes and rest, mean a realistic return to normal shipping patterns is weeks, if not months, away."
W.Huber--VB