In a significant development, the first commercial vessel has successfully navigated the Strait of Hormuz, marking a crucial reopening of this essential maritime passage. This comes after Iran, following weeks of closure, consented to allow ships to traverse the waterway once more.
The Celestyal Discovery, a cruise ship, made its way through the strait shortly after Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, declared that the strait was open for all commercial traffic. This announcement followed heightened tensions, with Iran previously threatening to target any vessel passing through, escalating after the conflict involving the US and Israel erupted.
According to MarineTraffic, the cruise ship departed Dubai’s Port Rashid at 11:36 a.m. local time. This marked the first time a passenger ship had exited the shipping lane since the conflict began. Notably, the vessel was empty of its usual complement of approximately 1,360 passengers during this journey.
Celestyal Discovery is now en route to Muscat, Oman, with an expected docking time late Saturday afternoon, as reported by CruiseMapper. The ship is operated by Celestyal Cruises, a company based in Greece.
Before this reopening, several cruise ships, including the Celestyal Discovery, were either trapped within the Persian Gulf or forced to cancel planned voyages due to the conflict that began on February 28. The Iranian regime’s threats led to a complete halt in commercial shipping activities through the strait, affecting the region’s maritime operations.
The ocean liner, operated by Greece-based Celestyal Cruises, was one of several cruise ships either trapped in the Persian Gulf or forced to cancel scheduled sailings after the war erupted on Feb. 28 and Tehran banging threatening to attack any vessels traveling through the strait, bringing commercial shipping in the region to a complete standstill.
As tensions escalated in the Middle East, Iran had littered the passage with explosives and repeatedly warned that it would attack any ship attempting to cross the critical chokepoint without its permission — and force them to pay tolls of up to $2 million.
Now that the US and Iran continue to negotiate a peace deal, after already agreeing to a 10-day cease-fire, Araghchi said the strait will remain open amid the temporary truce.
President Trump also announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day cease-fire.
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire,” Araghchi said in an X post, although he didn’t specify which cease-fire.
Araghchi added that the critical passage is only open “on the coordinated route,” referring to a pathway previously approved by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Military vessels are reportedly still prohibited from crossing the waterway.
President Trump, meanwhile, declared on Truth Social Friday morning that the reopening of the strait would be permanent.
“Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again,” he wrote.
“It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!”
