Pakistan Weighs Hormuz Options After Iran Clears 20 Ships
After discussions between Tehran and Islamabad, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X over the weekend that Iran had allowed the country to take 20 vessels “under the Pakistani flag” out through the Hormuz waterway
Pakistan is considering options that include allowing other ships to ferry vital cargoes under its flag, after Iran said it would allow 20 of the nation’s vessels through the Strait of Hormuz — more than it currently has in the area.
After discussions between Tehran and Islamabad, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X over the weekend that Iran had allowed the country to take 20 vessels “under the Pakistani flag” out through the Hormuz waterway. US President Donald Trump referenced the same green light in a newspaper interview.
But Pakistan does not have that many vessels in the Persian Gulf, according to ship-tracking data and the people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be named as the information is not public.
The last of Pakistan National Shipping Corp.’s vessels have already departed the gulf. That leaves the option of taking on other tankers to secure fertilizer, crude or other supplies the country sorely needs, and potentially re-flagging them to guarantee the necessary affiliation, the people said. They added no final decision has yet been made.
Kuwait has already said it would support Pakistan-flagged vessels with supplies of diesel and fuel.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the agreement between the South Asian nation and Iran, two Pakistan-flagged ships can cross the Hormuz each day, Dar said.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to most tanker traffic since the war in the Middle East began a month ago. But Pakistan’s agreement with Iran makes it the latest Asian nation to negotiate a bilateral deal to secure access to trapped cargoes and tankers, following Malaysia, Thailand and India.
The war in the Middle East, which began a month ago after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, has cut off some of the world’s largest oil and gas producers and created a dramatic global energy supply shock. Asian nations, especially emerging economies with limited fiscal space to absorb higher prices, have been the most directly impacted.