Ask for Certainty, Association of 1,500 Norwegian Ships Still Sailing the Strait of Hormuz

Illustration of the SAR incident at sea on a tanker. (Unsplash-Gordon Plant)

JAKARTA - Norwegian tankers still haven't mustered the courage to cross the Strait of Hormuz despite a two-week-old ceasefire between the US and Iran.

The Norwegian Shipowners' Association hopes that the US-Iran will provide sufficient certainty regarding the security of the supply line of 20 percent of the world's oil and gas.

"We have noted a ceasefire signal, but the situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved and unpredictable," the CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners Association, Knut Arild Hareide, said in a statement Wednesday, April 8, quoted by the Middle East Eye media.

At least 200 tankers were stuck in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, March 3, which Iran called a war zone in the wake of the US-Israeli attack. (Wikimedia Commons)

According to Hareide, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, which represents 130 companies covering ownership of around 1,500 vessels worldwide, considers the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz uncertain and shipowners are seeking more information.

"It is not clear in what conditions safe sailing can be carried out. The ship owner is assessing the situation and will not continue sailing until there is real security for safe sailing," said Hareide.

Previously, the Danish shipping company Maersk also said the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and the US had not provided enough certainty to normalize the operation of energy-carrying vessels across the Strait of Hormuz, which is in Iranian and Omani territory.