Sparta Commodities research head Neil Crosby expects shipping in the Persian
Gulf to recover this week as the Strait of Hormuz is due to reopen on Friday,
but full clearance of the backlog will take longer — hundreds of vessels remain
trapped and mine‑clearing operations will be slow. Crosby called expectations of
a full restoration of transit volumes within one to two weeks overly optimistic.
Unresolved transit-fee arrangements and pending insurer guidance are adding
route-choice uncertainty, and some owners are reluctant to ballast empty to the
Arabian Gulf.
