The significance of the Strait of Hormuz for global trade is beyond dispute. In the week preceding the US-Israel war on Iran, 38 per cent of global seaborne crude oil trade passed through the Strait, along with 29 per cent of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 19 per cent each of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and refined oil products trade, and 13 per cent of chemicals trade, including fertilisers. A smaller share of container shipping and dry bulk cargo trade also passed through Hormuz. The de facto closure of the Strait reduced shipping flows through it by more than 90 per cent. The Strait’s two major bypass routes, through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), could carry only less […]