Shipowners will not ​resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks ‌until they are confident that the U.S.-Iran ​deal is “material”, the chief executive of Japan’s ⁠Mitsui O.S.K. Lines told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday (June 16, 2026).

The Iran war that began ‌on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes largely stopped shipping through the transit route ‌for around a fifth of the world’s oil ‌and ⁠liquefied natural gas supply, along with products ⁠such as aluminium and urea.

Mitsui O.S.K., one of Japan’s big three shipping firms, has a fleet of more ​than 900 vessels, including ‌bulk carriers, tankers and ferries.

“What will have to come in place is not just a simple agreement between the relevant countries, but it ‌has to be material and translated into ​the real situations in the Strait of Hormuz, so that shipping lines can ⁠make themselves comfortable to go through,” Mitsui O.S.K.’s Jotaro Tamura told FT before U.S President Donald Trump ‌announced a deal to end the war in Iran.

“Given the experiences in the last couple of months, I think it’s reasonable to assume that it may take at least a couple of weeks or if not a month,” ‌Tamura told the paper.

Mitsui O.S.K. did not immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for comment. The agreement between Washington and Tehran being finalised had ⁠not changed Tamura’s view, the FT report said.

President ⁠Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that ships loaded with oil ‌are starting to move out of the strait, “going along the Southern ‘Highway,’ which is totally ​safe, secure, and pristine”.