Tankers moving again after Iran deal

**Valerie Sanderson** (0:00)
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.
I'm Valerie Sanderson, and at 1500 Hours GMT on Thursday the 18th of June, these are our main stories. Following the US-Iran agreement on ending the war, some ships have begun moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Ukraine has launched one of its biggest attacks on the Russian capital, Moscow. Researchers say ChatGPT can still make explicit sexual and violent content despite new restrictions imposed by its parent company. Also in this podcast are correspondent reports from the front line in the battle against Ebola in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And later…

**Christine Dudgeon** (0:45)
They're quite wriggly, so they will try and sort of get away. And that's really all that's required.
That's not too difficult.

**Valerie Sanderson** (0:53)
A new species of walking shark is found in Papua, New Guinea.
As we record this podcast, marine tracking platforms say at least four tankers have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on ending their war. The key shipping route has been caught in the crossfire between Tehran and Washington over the past four months, wreaking havoc on the global economy. It was, of course, open and operational before the US and Israel began launching their strikes on Iran. The deal is now supposed to secure free passage through the Strait for at least 60 days. I've been speaking to our business presenter, Rahul Tandon.

**Rahul Tandon** (1:38)
We are beginning to see a few ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, and this is such an important waterway choke point for the global economy in some ways. 20% of global oil, 20% of liquefied natural gas goes through there as well. The problem is that we're seeing a few ships going through, nowhere near the traffic that we would normally see, and when I speak to shipping companies, they say, this is going to take some time. Why? Insurance problems. Insurance is still very high. Safety concerns still. Will this peace hold and for how long will it hold? And also mines. How many mines have Iran put in there? So good news if you're sitting at home, when you think there's a peace deal or some sort of deal coming, because it could mean that prices at the pumps go down wherever you are in the world, but they might not go down as quickly as you think.

**Valerie Sanderson** (2:24)
And so long term, what does it mean for the global economy? I mean, will it be able to bounce back or will this war have a huge effect?

**Rahul Tandon** (2:33)
Well, if you're listening at home, the global economy like you have had many shocks. The pandemic caused huge shocks to the global economy. What happened in Ukraine caused huge shocks to the global economy and this as well. And so it is bouncing back, but it is taking longer and longer to do so. And wherever you are in many parts of the world, you will see the impact of this prices are continuing to go up. Inflation is rising. We are seeing oil prices come down. If I look at the figures in front of me at the moment, a barrel of Brent crude is below $80. At one point it was up to 130 So that is good news. It will happen, but it will happen slowly. And that is only if the Strait of Hormuz remains open. And that is a big question.

**Valerie Sanderson** (3:12)
And, Rahul, analysts are saying this points up the dangers of relying so much on one route for trade. So do you think companies and countries will look for other ways of transporting fuel?

**Rahul Tandon** (3:24)
Well, look, as we said, it's about a fifth, isn't it, of a lot of those important supplies going through. Yes, they will, but it's not easy.
Pipelines could be used, but building pipelines takes quite a long period of time. Ships can go down the Cape of Good Hope around the tip of Africa. But for you and me, if they do that, Valerie, it means costs go up because it's going to be a lot more expensive for shipping companies to do that. One thing that we may see is the countries looking at their own fossil fuel resources near to them. We're seeing that here in the UK, also in parts of the Caribbean as well. Maybe it could in some ways shift the move to green energy, which of course we wouldn't have to transport for countries doing that. But in the short term, it's the Strait of Hormuz. There is no other way for these supplies to move in any other way.