Dar said Iran had approved 20 additional Pakistani-flagged vessels and described the move as a “welcome and constructive gesture” that could help stabilize the region. The announcement also suggests that negotiated passage remains possible for selected cargoes even as wider traffic through the waterway stays under pressure.
That matters for Pakistan because the country has already been managing the domestic fallout from Hormuz disruptions. A Pakistan-bound tanker that cleared the strait on March 16 was one of the first signs that some vessels could still win passage, and officials said at the time that petroleum stocks were comfortable only into mid-April.
Why the Strait of Hormuz matters for Pakistan
The Strait of Hormuz is not just another shipping lane. Reuters’ mapping of oil and LNG flows through the waterway shows that roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas supply normally moves through it, which is why even limited access for a handful of ships can matter for import-dependent economies.
Pakistan has already felt that stress. The government raised retail fuel prices on March 6 after the regional conflict pushed oil costs higher, adding to inflation pressure and the import bill. The extra vessel slots announced Sunday do not remove that risk, but they do lower the odds of an immediate supply squeeze if the two-ships-a-day arrangement holds.
Strait of Hormuz diplomacy now meets execution
The shipping concession also arrives as Islamabad tries to turn its diplomatic role into practical relief. Reuters reported that Pakistan is hosting talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to explore a broader path toward de-escalation, giving the ship-transit announcement added political weight beyond the cargoes themselves.
The next question is whether approvals turn into steady arrivals. Pakistan still needs ships to clear the strait on schedule, discharge without delay and translate paper clearance into actual fuel at home. Any slippage could quickly revive the same inflation and supply worries that have shadowed the market through March.
Strait of Hormuz disruptions have a longer history
The current squeeze also fits a longer pattern of commercial shipping getting pulled into regional confrontations. That included Iran’s seizure of two Greek tankers in 2022 and the 2024 boarding of the MSC Aries, reminders that even when the waterway is not fully shut, shipping risk can still surge fast enough to jolt freight costs, insurance and official energy planning.
For now, Pakistan has secured a narrow but meaningful break in the bottleneck. Whether it becomes a broader Strait of Hormuz thaw — or just another temporary carve-out — will depend on how many of those 20 ships actually make the transit in the coming days.
