A group of industry organisations, including BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO, OCIMF, INTERCARGO and IMCA, have issued new guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting that passage may remain unsafe even if the waterway is open.

The advisory sets out a detailed view of the operating conditions faced by merchant vessels in and around the Strait, describing a degraded environment shaped by multiple concurrent threats and hazards.

Guidance within the advisory notes that, if risk levels rise based on security assessments, deferring a transit should be considered a safer option.

Among the different risks that may arise at the same time are kinetic activity, electronic interference, traffic congestion, mines, drone activity, AIS spoofing and navigation challenges.

It also highlights that workload, fatigue and stress can affect human performance, requiring careful planning and mitigation measures during both voyage preparation and execution.

The document furthermore addressed the risk associated with potential heavy traffic if navigation windows resume abruptly following closures or periods of elevated danger.

It explains that a surge of vessels trying to pass through at the same time may trigger cascading manoeuvring adjustments, disrupt closest point of approach (CPA) assessments, lead to unsafe overtaking, and heighten the likelihood of groundings or collisions within the confined Traffic Separation Scheme.

The advisory outlines potential scenarios linked to simultaneous and uncoordinated transits such as AIS saturation, reduced reliability in calculating the closest point of approach, choke points, erratic vessel movements and the interaction of different ship types and sizes.