ISLAMABAD: A grinding energy crisis gripped global markets following the military blockade and closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But as world economies scrambled for a lifeline, a hidden maritime bypass emerged: one completely outside Iran's grip and entirely under Oman's control.
The strait is 33 kilometers (20 miles) wide at its narrowest point, with Iran to the north and Oman and the UAE to the south. Before the war, there was one designated passage, agreed between Iran and Oman in 1968 and officially approved by the International Maritime Organization. After the US and Israel attacked Iran, however, Tehran announced it had mined the strait and suspended all traffic.
The northern route skims the Iranian coastline, which Iran controls and has reportedly been using to demand tolls per ship in transit.
The alternative, known as the Omani Corridor, is a southern bypass hugging the UAE coastline, bending around Oman's Musandam Peninsula, a narrow strip of land jutting into the strait from the south, before exiting into open water. Ships passing through remain in Omani territorial waters the entire time.
The passage has an official name: the Inshore Traffic Zone. Prior to 1979, it was the main shipping channel through the strait, used before the Iranian Revolution reorganized traffic northward. Oman has since formally reopened it to all commercial traffic, including supertankers.
Ships were already using the route before any official announcement. A review of vessel movements on June 19 and 20 showed ships had begun keeping further south, wholly within Omani waters. When Oman formally announced the reopening, the terms were clear: no tolls, tracking systems on and coordinated with the IMO. By June 25, 70 ships had used the corridor in a single day.
Two days later, the US Navy's Joint Maritime Information Center widened the route to accommodate traffic in both directions.
Iran's response was swift
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the corridor had been announced without consulting Tehran and called it "unacceptable and a serious safety risk." Hours later, the cargo ship Ever Lovely, stranded in the Gulf for over a hundred days, took the Omani route and was struck by a projectile. The IMO immediately suspended its evacuation of 11,000 stranded seafarers while the US launched retaliatory strikes against Iranian military targets.
Ships are encouraged, though not required, to coordinate with the US Navy, which says it continues to provide stabilizing oversight in the corridor.
On Monday, Iran and Oman held their first formal meeting of the new Joint Hormuz Committee in Muscat, directly negotiating the strait's future.
Whether the Omani route can serve as a permanent alternative remains doubtful. It is too narrow to accommodate the full flow of traffic, and increased crowding increases the risk of collisions. The real fix is clearing the main lane of mines, a process that could take anywhere from 40 days to six months.
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