MOL Delays Resuming Suez Passage Amid Accord, Expects Weeks to Clear 7 Waiting Vessels

According to BlockBeats, on June 16, Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), the world's largest tanker operator, said it will not rush to resume normal transit through the Hormuz Strait despite the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement to reopen the waterway. MOL will await confirmation that the accord translates into a "safe, reliable and unobstructed" shipping environment.

MOL CEO Takao Tamura stated that past months saw multiple failed expectations for the strait's reopening, making the industry cautious about the current accord. The company expects normal operations to resume in weeks to over a month, with at least 7 vessels currently waiting to transit. The International Maritime Organization is assessing the safe evacuation of about 500 stranded vessels and facilitating crew repatriation channels for those trapped beyond 100 days.