Middle East Crisis Situation in the Strait of Hormuz

Three ships appear to be on their way through the Strait of Hormuz

A Greek oil tanker has passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the day, reports Bloomberg. Additional Chinese ships appear to be on their way to make the same journey. If all three ships pass, the day looks set to be the busiest in the strait since early March.

Normally, around a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies pass through the strait every day.

The news of the passages comes after the US and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire. Iran has been blocking the strait since Israel and the US began their attacks on the country, which led to a global price shock.

Sources: Iran does not know where all the mines in Hormuz are located

Iran is unable to fully open the Strait of Hormuz because it does not know where all the mines it has placed are actually located, government sources told the New York Times.

Iran is also said to lack the capacity to remove the mines.

The country is said to have mined the strait via small boats immediately after the US-Israeli attack began last month. However, the deployment is not fully documented and in many cases the mines were placed in such a way that they can drift away from their original location.

Individual routes through the strait have been cleared of mines, but Iran has demanded that a toll be paid to drive there.