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The fragile reopening of the Strait of Hormuz showed new signs of strain on Thursday as merchant ships reportedly began turning around after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) renewed warnings that vessels require Iranian permission to transit the strategic waterway.
Martin Kelly, head of EOS Risk Group, said ships reversed course following fresh radio broadcasts from the IRGC Navy, also known as the Sepah Navy, asserting control over navigation through the strait.
"Ships are turning around again in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian reiteration that only ships with Iranian permission may transit," Kelly said. "Sepah Navy (IRGC) continues to broadcast that the Strait is closed and warns of consequences should vessels continue to pass."
The broadcasts instructed vessels that transit through the Strait of Hormuz is "only possible with Sepah Navy permission on designated route" and warned that ships attempting to transit without permission, with AIS switched off, or outside designated routes "are responsible for any consequences of any danger."
Ships are turning around again in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian reiteration that only ships with Iranian permission may transit.
Sepah Navy (IRGC) continues to broadcast that the Strait is closed and warns of consequences should vessels continue to pass.
Should note… pic.twitter.com/qgA0K9faV8
— Martin Kelly (@_MartinKelly_) June 25, 2026
Kelly cautioned that similar broadcasts were made over the weekend without resulting in attacks against commercial shipping.
"Should note here that the same also happened last weekend and there were no attacks against shipping," he said. "Does not necessarily suggest the same will happen this time."
The renewed warnings come just one day after the International Maritime Organization began coordinating the phased movement of thousands of vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf following months of conflict.
Under the IMO-led process, vessels have been instructed to remain in their current positions until contacted individually by coordinators before proceeding through a temporary transit corridor established in coordination with the Sultanate of Oman. The operation is intended to safely move more than 11,000 seafarers and hundreds of merchant vessels that became trapped during the conflict.
The latest IRGC broadcasts highlight the continuing uncertainty surrounding navigation through the world's most important energy chokepoint despite last week's U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which ended active hostilities and set the framework for reopening the strait.
While the agreement called for restoring freedom of navigation and prompted the creation of the IMO-coordinated transit system, Iran has continued to assert that commercial vessels must follow its own designated routes and obtain authorization from Iranian authorities.
The competing guidance has left shipowners, operators and insurers navigating an uncertain operating environment even as tanker traffic had begun to recover in recent days. Shipping intelligence firms reported earlier this week that vessels had started returning to the central shipping corridor for the first time since the conflict began, while oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have steadily increased.
For now, industry observers say the renewed radio warnings appear to be disrupting traffic, but whether they represent a precursor to enforcement action remains unclear.
