Commercial ships are sailing close to Oman and are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, with the risk of the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating,

Conflict between Israel and Iran has rekindled fears of a disruption to a narrow waterway key to the global economy. Skyscraper-sized tankers ferry roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum, as well as massive cargoes of natural gas,

Iran last threatened to close the Strait in April 2024, as it has done on several previous occasions. Shipping was targeted in the Middle East Gulf during the ‘Tanker War’ of the 1980s, fought between Iran and Iraq. That conflict saw 400 merchant ships attacked, with over 400 seafarers killed. (Copyright)