Tit-for-tat vessel seizures in Hormuz deepen shipping crisis

A standoff in the Strait of Hormuz has escalated into reciprocal seizures of commercial vessels by the United States and Iran, drawing condemnation from global shipping bodies and raising concerns over disruptions to trade and energy flows.

Both countries have captured multiple ships in recent days, in what industry representatives describe as a worsening "tit-for-tat" pattern that risks undermining international maritime law, says Al Jazeera.

The U.S. Defense Department said it intercepted the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean for transporting sanctioned oil, following an earlier seizure of the Tifani.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had seized the Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca and the Greek-owned Epaminondas, stating the vessels were "operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems".

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents around 80% of the global merchant fleet, called for the immediate release of all detained crews.

John Stawpert, marine director of the ICS, said: "Seafarers must be allowed to go about their business 'freely and without persecution'".

"All these people are doing is transporting trade. And really, we can't have a situation where ships are being seized, ultimately for political ends, to prove a political point," he added.

Stawpert said the detentions undermined the principle of freedom of navigation, adding: "These are innocent farers and they should be allowed to go about their jobs without fear of, essentially, imprisonment".

He also warned that proposals to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz could set a broader precedent. "If you can do it in the Strait of Hormuz, why can't you do it in the Strait of Gibraltar, say, or the Straits of Malacca?" he said.

The crisis has placed mounting strain on maritime workers operating in the region.

At least 15 Filipino and four Montenegrin seafarers are among crews held on vessels seized by Iran. Iranian authorities have said the crews are "unharmed" and "safe", while Montenegro's maritime minister Filip Radulovic said the Montenegrin crew members were "fine".

Stawpert said that while there were no reports of mistreatment, the detentions themselves were unjustified. "It seems they're not being maltreated... But even so, that's not really the point. The point is they shouldn't be in custody in the first place," he said.

Around 20,000 seafarers are also stranded in the Gulf due to the disruption. "The psychological burden, I think, will be beginning to tell on them after seven weeks now of what's, to all intents and purposes, house arrest," Stawpert said.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies, has seen a sharp decline in shipping activity since the conflict escalated.

Daily vessel transits have fallen from an average of 129 before the conflict began on Feb. 28 to as few as five ships in a 24-hour period in recent days.

Oil prices have risen above $106 per barrel, prompting some governments to introduce emergency energy-saving measures.

A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, coupled with Iran's effective closure of the strait, has added to uncertainty for shipping companies.

"We don't know what conditions are in place. We don't know what the targeting criteria of Iran are really... And so we then have another state coming in, effectively doing the same thing through the blockade of the straits," Stawpert said.

He called for a de-escalation and restoration of maritime norms. "Let's resume freedom of navigation and respect the right to innocent passage as soon as we possibly can," he said.