During the brief temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the first wave of cruise ships trapped inside the Persian Gulf commenced their return voyages. Iran temporarily opened the Strait of Hormuz between April 17 and 18 for a window of less than 24 hours, during which five cruise ships were able to exit.

"Celestyal Discovery", Image source: Internet

The first cruise vessel to transit the strait was Celestyal's Celestyal Discovery (IMO: 9221566, 42,289 GT), which departed from Port Rashid on April 17 and successfully navigated through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman, en route to Muscat.

Track of "Celestyal Discovery", Screenshot from ShipViewBao (same below)

The following day, its sister ship, Celestyal Journey (IMO: 8919269, 55,819 GT), exited the Persian Gulf bound for Cape Town.

Track of "Celestyal Journey"

For this small cruise operator, extracting both vessels from the Persian Gulf and commencing their redeployment was of critical importance. Celestyal Cruises had previously been compelled to cancel all commercial voyages through the end of April, with operations scheduled to resume in the Greek Isles in early May. The company has advised UK regulatory authorities that, due to financial pressures and uncertainty regarding restart timelines, it is considering potential modest reductions to certain operations.

A Total of Six Cruise Ships Have Now Successfully Evacuated

Hours after the first Celestyal vessel transited successfully, additional cruise ships began to reposition.

AIS data indicates that MSC Euribia (IMO: 9901544, 184,000 GT)—MSC's sole cruise ship deployed in the Middle East region—along with TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, transited the Strait of Hormuz in company last Saturday.

Track of "MSC Euribia"

Track of "MEIN SCHIFF 5"

MSC had proposed several days earlier that its cruise vessels might be utilized to evacuate crew members or other personnel stranded in the Persian Gulf region. TUI had previously reported repatriating crew members from both vessels, leaving only essential watch-keeping personnel onboard.

Furthermore, after confirmation that the situation regarding the Strait of Hormuz remains under strict Iranian surveillance with no change in posture, AROYA Cruises' Aroya departed the Arabian Gulf on the 20th, transited the Strait of Hormuz, and is currently underway for the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah.

Track of "Aroya"

Once clear of the Persian Gulf, cruise operators face an additional strategic decision regarding routing. Celestyal Cruises and AROYA previously transited the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait despite ongoing security concerns related to Houthi activity. TUI, conversely, routed its vessels around the African continent. All vessels will sail with crew-only manning. To date, however, only Celestyal Discovery has indicated an intention to utilize the Suez Canal. TUI and MSC have yet to specify their intended routing for returning vessels to the Mediterranean.

35 Vessels Turned Back While Attempting to Exit Strait of Hormuz Over Past 36 Hours

According to a CCTV News report citing UK-based maritime analytics firm Windward, a report issued on April 19 indicates that Iran has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz following the brief temporary reopening. Over the preceding 36-hour period, 35 vessels en route to exit the strait reversed course and turned back.

Screenshot from the Windward Maritime Analytics official website

The report details that Iran announced the strait's reopening on April 17, prompting cautious initial vessel response. Transit activity on April 18 commenced sparsely before accelerating rapidly as vessels sought to navigate the strait prior to any further deterioration in conditions. A total of 35 vessels transited that day: 8 inbound (comprising 4 tankers, 2 bulkers, and 2 other cargo vessels) and 27 outbound (comprising 8 tankers, 3 bulkers, 15 other cargo vessels, and 1 passenger ship).

Following Iran's announcement of the renewed closure on April 18, Windward promptly confirmed 13 vessel turnbacks, including 4 containerships that had already transited the strait before reversing course. The same day also recorded three attacks on shipping, bringing the total number of vessels attacked since the outbreak of US-Israeli-Iranian hostilities to 29. These attacks further intensified the trend of vessels aborting transit attempts. The report further noted that between April 17 and 19, 20 vessels were observed as potentially breaching the US blockade of Iranian ports.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on the 19th that the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has demarcated a new navigation route extending from south of Hormuz Island to waters south of Larak Island. The report stated that the corridor has been designated the "Larak Corridor" and that transit is prohibited without prior authorization from the IRGC Navy.

It remains to be seen whether the remaining cruise vessels will secure another departure window in the coming weeks and how the respective operators will ultimately reposition their assets back to summer cruising programs.