{"text":[[{"start":10.5,"text":"More than 400 large ships are holding positions off the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, as tanker owners and operators wait for the wider reopening of the waterway following negotiations between the US and Iran."}],[{"start":24.05,"text":"FT analysis of satellite data from the European Space Agency counted 441 large tanker-sized vessels clustered off Sohar and Fujairah, the main ports on the eastern side of the strait. "}],[{"start":37.3,"text":"This build-up was observed by a Sentinel-1 radar satellite, which passed above the region about 2.15pm GMT on Sunday. Several shipping companies have said that they are gathering vessels to positions close to the Gulf in order to take advantage of a full reopening of the strait."}],[{"start":54.75,"text":"This figure has grown markedly compared with April, when the US began a blockade of the strait."}],[{"start":60.65,"text":"While unusually high by historical standards, the number of ships is nevertheless down by 42 since the last Sentinel-1 pass, five days before. Ship operators last week took advantage of the apparent increase in safety to attempt transits after the US and Iran announced their preliminary deal. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":79.2,"text":"Despite agreeing to open up and demine the main shipping lanes of the strait, Iran declared the strait closed again on Saturday following attacks by Israel on Lebanon. The Sentinel-1 pass observed no significant traffic in the main channel of the strait on Sunday."}],[{"start":96.6,"text":"Iran and the US were locked in intense negotiations in Switzerland on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning over the shape of the final deal. A US official said the discussions had included “clarifying some of the confusing messaging from Iran” on the Strait of Hormuz and “building deconfliction mechanisms” to ensure the waterway would remain fully open."}],[{"start":118.3,"text":"Iran has previously suggested that after a 60-day period it could require ships to pay for passage through the strait in some form, for example by buying Iranian insurance."}],[{"start":128.9,"text":"The surge in movements in the past week suggests, however, that vessel operators are becoming more confident, and may be willing to take on journeys that were previously considered too risky, even before a deal is finalised."}],[{"start":141.3,"text":"Four Qatari liquefied natural gas tankers were sailing through the strait on Monday morning, the highest number since the outbreak of the conflict on February 28."}],[{"start":150.85000000000002,"text":"On Saturday, the container ship MSC Qingdao left the Gulf through the strait via a route hugging the Omani coast. MSC has previously had several ships targeted by Iranian strikes and two of its vessels were taken hostage by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."}],[{"start":169.05,"text":"The MSC Qingdao sailed through with its transponder on, meaning that its location was widely broadcast. This suggests that there were fewer concerns about Iranian attacks since the announcement of the US-Iran peace deal last week, despite fears that the accord would not hold."}],[{"start":184.60000000000002,"text":"Iranian tankers have also been sailing more freely into and out of the Gulf since the US agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and vessels on Wednesday."}],[{"start":195.3,"text":"Radar imagery has significant advantages over optical imagery for ship monitoring: images can be taken at night and are not affected by cloud. The process also captures ships that are not broadcasting their positions. "}],[{"start":208.20000000000002,"text":"The data, however, only allows estimates of the size of the vessels, which makes positive identification of specific ships extremely difficult."}],[{"start":225.65000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782174198_7195.mp3"}