Shipping Industry Issues Stark New Hormuz Transit Guidance as Risks Mount

The global shipping industry has released sweeping new guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, warning that even if the waterway remains technically open, conditions inside the chokepoint may still be too dangerous for safe navigation.

The 22-page advisory, issued jointly by major industry groups including BIMCO, International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO, OCIMF, INTERCARGO, and IMCA, paints one of the clearest pictures yet of the deteriorating operational environment facing merchant ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The document warns that vessels may face a “high workload and high-stress operating environment” where kinetic threats, electronic warfare, heavy congestion, mines, drones, AIS spoofing, and navigation