The CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to shipping even after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
“We need clarity now,” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in a social media post. “Let me be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is restricted, conditioned and controlled.”
Iran has made it clear that ships must obtain permission to pass through the strait, al-Jaber said. “It’s not freedom of navigation. It’s coercion,” the ADNOC chief said.
ADNOC is the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is OPEC’s third-largest oil producer, supplying 3.4 million barrels of crude oil per day before war broke out on February 28.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire is conditional on Iran agreeing to the full, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, shipping traffic through the strait has not recovered since the ceasefire took effect, cargo analysts told CNBC. Traffic remains at the slow flow observed for most of the war, he said.
Iran’s military command said on Wednesday it would “manage and wisely control the Strait of Hormuz,” according to state-run Press TV.
During the war, Iranian ship attacks drastically reduced oil tanker traffic through the strait, causing the largest oil supply disruption in history. The strait connects the oil producing countries of the Persian Gulf with global markets. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil supply passed through narrow sea routes.
Al Jaber said the last oil cargo that passed through the strait before the war was now reaching its destination. He said the oil futures market, which plunged after the ceasefire was announced, would soon face the physical reality of supply disruption.
“Every day that passage through the Straits remains restricted is exacerbating the impact,” the CEO said. “Supplies are delayed, markets tighten, and prices rise. The impact extends beyond energy markets to economies, industries and households around the world. Every day counts. Each delay deepens the disruption.”
Al Jaber said about 230 tankers were loaded with oil waiting to leave the Gulf.
The strait is a natural passage defined by international law and “transit is guaranteed as a right, not a privilege that can be granted, withheld or weaponized,” he said.
“Stability now depends on being able to restore real flows,” the CEO said. “It’s not partial access, it’s not a temporary measure, it’s not a traffic restriction, it’s a complete and reliable supply.”
