Turkey said on Monday that 11 Turkish-owned ships have safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz and left the Gulf since the start of the Iran war, while seven vessels with 177 Turkish crew members aboard remain in the region.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the latest two ships to leave were the Yasa Moon and the Nejat, which exited the strait safely on the morning of June 21. He said Turkish authorities were closely monitoring developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf and were in constant contact with ship operators and Turkish nationals in the area.
According to Uraloğlu, seven Turkish-owned ships were still in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf as of June 22, with one of them sailing under the Turkish flag. He said five of the seven ships had requested passage through Hormuz, while two energy vessels had not sought to leave because they were continuing their operations in the area.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments under normal conditions. Traffic through the waterway slowed sharply after the war began on February 28, when US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a wider regional conflict.
Shipping through the strait has begun to recover in recent days as US-Iran negotiations have made progress. Reuters reported on June 23 that more vessels were transiting Hormuz and that several Qatar-linked liquefied natural gas tankers had returned to the Gulf, pointing to a cautious revival in energy shipping.
Iran said on June 22 that it would establish a communication line for safe passage in the strait, a sign of easing tension after weeks of disruption, ship seizures and security incidents that stranded vessels and crews across the Gulf.