US-Iran Negotiations Collapse, Two Super Tankers Turn Back in the Strait of Hormuz

US-Iran negotiations have stalled, dashing expectations for the Hormuz Strait to resume normal passage in the short term.

On April 12, according to Bloomberg, two empty supertankers suddenly turned around after approaching a key checkpoint in the Hormuz Strait on Sunday, coinciding precisely with the moment when US and Iranian negotiators in Islamabad announced the breakdown of talks.

During the course of previous negotiations, military activity also escalated. According to China Central Television News, on the 11th Eastern Time, the US Central Command announced that two US Navy missile destroyers transited the Hormuz Strait and operated in the Persian Gulf, claiming this action was part of a mission to completely clear naval mines deployed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the strait. A spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces' Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters immediately and strongly denied this, stating that the right of passage for all ships in the Hormuz Strait is entirely under the control of the Iranian armed forces.

Since the outbreak of Middle East conflicts, the Hormuz Strait has been effectively blocked, resulting in an unprecedented scale of energy supply disruption. The collapse of these negotiations means the passage issue through the strait will be difficult to resolve in the short term, and market concerns over crude oil supply are likely to intensify further.

Two tankers turned around, a third passed successfully

According to vessel tracking data, three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) not directly related to Iran approached the Hormuz Strait from the Gulf of Oman late Saturday and arrived near Iran’s Larak Island in the early hours of Sunday.

At the actual checkpoint, the Agios Fanourios I, bound for Iraq, and the Shalamar, a Pakistan-flagged tanker headed for UAE’s Das Island, both turned around and headed back. The third VLCC, Mombasa B, continued onward, entering the Persian Gulf via an Iran-approved route between Larak Island and Qeshm Island, but has not yet broadcast a clear destination signal.

The exact reason for their turnaround remains unclear. Bloomberg noted that Iraq and Pakistan had previously obtained transit permission from Iran, but the last-minute withdrawal of these two vessels occurred precisely as US-Iran negotiations collapsed.

Strait situation remains turbulent, passage risks stay high

Since the blockade of the Hormuz Strait, multiple ships have attempted to cross and subsequently abandoned their passage, reflecting the ongoing instability of local security conditions. According to Bloomberg, in recent weeks, several container ships turned around at the end of last month before eventually making successful exits; a liquefied natural gas carrier also reversed course mid-transit last week.

Bloomberg further reported that there was a brief positive signal on Saturday—a pair of supertankers and a Greek vessel, all fully loaded with crude oil, exited the Persian Gulf via the Hormuz Strait. Had all three vessels successfully passed on Sunday, this optimistic trend would have continued, but the final outcome disappointed market expectations.