Ceasefire changes little for shipping in strait of Hormuz, experts say

An estimated 2,000 ships, including oil and gas tankers and cruise liners, have been trapped in the Gulf since start of the US-Iran war. Photograph: Reuters

There will be no “mass exodus” of ships through the strait of Hormuz, shipping analysts say, despite a two-week conditional ceasefire being agreed between the US and Iran with provision for the temporary reopening of the crucial maritime channel.

Tehran said on Wednesday that it would offer safe passage in coordination with its armed forces, though its coastguards said any ship trying to transit without permission would be “targeted and destroyed”.