Splash247.com — 2026-04-13
News from Brussels
Global oil markets surged back above the $100-per-barrel mark on Monday as the eighth week of the Hormuz crisis opened with a dramatic escalation – the United States formally implementing a naval blockade of Iranian ports and the collapse of weekend peace negotiations in Islamabad dealing a fresh blow to hopes of a diplomatic resolution.
US Central Command confirmed this morning that its forces would begin enforcing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am ET today, in accordance with a presidential proclamation.
CENTCOM stated the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” while stressing that freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports would not be impeded.
President Trump left little doubt about Washington’s resolve. “No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he wrote, warning: “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
Tehran was swift to respond. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that military vessels approaching the Strait would be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with “harshly and decisively.” Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country’s delegation to the failed talks in Islamabad alongside Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, dismissed Trump’s threats as meaningless. “If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic,” he said in remarks carried by state media.
The collapse of the Islamabad talks over the weekend marked a significant setback. The negotiations had briefly raised hopes after oil prices had already retreated from around $110 per barrel to $95 following an earlier ceasefire announcement. With diplomacy now in ruins and the blockade active, crude has rebounded to approximately $102 per barrel at time of writing.
The underlying supply picture is increasingly alarming. According to data from broker Sentosa, crude and condensate stock draws have accelerated sharply in recent weeks, with total onshore and floating inventories declining at an estimated rate of around 10m barrels per day in the first nine days of April – broadly in line with the scale of disrupted supply. Crude loadings into Asia were approximately 28% below the 2025 baseline in March, with China and Japan both drawing on strategic reserves to offset reduced imports.
Sentosa warned that the blockade announcement has added another layer of anxiety to an already fragile market. “While Washington has stated that vessels transiting Hormuz to or from third countries will not be impeded, the operational scope and enforceability remain unclear,” the broker said. “This ambiguity continues to weigh on market confidence and is likely to sustain the cautious approach adopted by those operating in the region.”
VLCC utilisation has fallen to record lows within Sentosa’s dataset, with the number of mainstream ballast VLCCs in the Pacific Basin now running around 17% above pre-conflict levels as tonnage accumulates with nowhere to go.
Compounding concerns, a troubling incident unfolded in the Red Sea on Sunday. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that 10 to 12 individuals aboard a skiff, some armed with automatic weapons, attempted to board a sailing vessel approximately 54 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah. The master refused orders to stop, deployed a flare, and the skiff withdrew. Yemen’s Houthi movement has previously threatened to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping in solidarity with Iran – and while no confirmed Houthi strikes have yet materialised, Sunday’s incident will do little to ease nerves across the industry.