Nearly 500 vessels, including 220 oil tankers, remain stalled outside Hormuz amid insurance voids, keeping oil prices elevated.
The US is considering invoking the Defense Production Act to compel domestic insurers to cover Hormuz transits, aiming to clear a bottleneck of 490 vessels, 220 of them oil tankers. The move follows stalled progress after a recent MOU failed to restore shipping confidence in the waterway.
Oil prices remain above pre-war levels due to suppressed supply, with markets assessing whether a fee-based naval escort or insurance mandate would provide a durable solution. European navy involvement could shift geopolitical burden-sharing ahead of the G7 summit.
Analysts view the insurance option as more structurally viable than escort fees, which may increase transit costs and pressure crude differentials.