Pakistan: Iran agrees to allow an additional 20 Pakistani ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz

In Beijing time early Sunday morning, good news has been reported regarding conditions for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to reports from CCTV News and other media outlets, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Dar announced on social media that the Iranian government has agreed to permit an additional 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with two ships passing through the strait each day.

Dar said this is a positive and constructive gesture made by Iran, and is worth commending. This move is a positive signal for peace and will help promote regional stability.

Dar also wrote at the end of his post: “Dialogue, diplomacy, and measures like these that build mutual trust are the only way out.”

According to a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar spoke by phone with Iranian foreign minister Araghtzi on the day, and the two sides exchanged views on the current regional situation and the latest developments.

Restructuring navigation order in the strait

As the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran enters its second month, navigation conditions in the Strait of Hormuz remain far below pre-war levels.

As of the latest intelligence available before the time of publication, a total of 4 vessels that can be tracked completed transits on Saturday local time, including two liquefied petroleum gas tankers and two bulk carriers. All four vessels went deep into Iranian waters and passed through the narrow passage between Qeshm Island and Larak Island. These movements indicate that the transit itself has been approved by Iran.

Data platform Kpler’s statistics show that since the war began on February 28, the number of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz each day has remained low; at most, only about 10 ships pass through in a day, far below the nearly 100 ships before the war.

（Source: Kpler）

It should be noted that, because wartime electronic interference continues to disrupt the regional vessel-tracking systems, and vessels in high-risk areas also proactively shut down AIS transponders, the timeliness and reliability of tracking data are further reduced. Therefore, Wall Street traders and analysts at research institutions are also using satellite imagery to assess conditions in the strait. As ships safely pass through the strait and restore communications, the final navigation data may be revised upward.

Meanwhile, “navigation operations” in the diplomatic sphere are also ongoing. In recent days, the governments of Malaysia and Thailand have both announced that they have received commitments from Iran to allow their ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Indonesian government has also confirmed that it is in close communication with Iran regarding the release of two detained oil tankers.

On the 11th of this month, Iran said its forces opened fire at the cargo ship “Mayuree Naree,” which flies the Thai flag. After the ship was hit by an unidentified projectile, it caught fire and ran aground in northern Oman. To date, three crew members remain unaccounted for, and another 20 people have been rescued.

（Local time March 11, 2026, the Strait of Hormuz in Iran; the cargo ship “Mayuree Naree,” flying the Thai flag, caught fire after being hit by an Iranian missile）

Also, it has been reported that the Iranian parliament is seeking to pass legislation to charge a fee to ships attempting to transit the strait safely.

Based on a simple estimate, the strait typically sees 20 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products pass through per day, equivalent to 10 Ultra Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). If each ship is charged 2 million USD, then it could bring in 600 million USD in a month.

（Source: Caixin Global）