Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the U.N.'s shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesperson said on Wednesday (June 24).

The initiative, which has taken months to conclude, will enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through Hormuz, the International Maritime Organization said on Tuesday.

Oman said it would keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping without imposing any tolls, having designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels departing the region.

Three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil were exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed, as the interim deal between Iran and the U.S. unlocks more supply stuck in the Gulf, bringing down global prices.

South Korean-flagged VL Breeze, a Very Large Crude Carrier carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari condensate and Abu Dhabi crude, passed the strait and is heading to Daesan, data from LSEG and Kpler showed. The supertanker is chartered by South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank.

VLCC Plata Carrier, chartered by Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, is heading out of the strait with 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, alongside Suezmax tanker Prudent Warrior, which is heading for Sohar, Oman, with 1 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, the data showed. Both are sailing under the Liberian flag.

Hyundai Oilbank and IOC could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kpler and Vortexa analysts estimated last week that close to 90 million barrels of crude were stuck inside the Gulf.

It was not immediately clear whether the ships were sailing along the temporary maritime corridors established by Oman and the International Maritime Organization to help ships leave the area safely.

At least 35 other commercial ships, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container vessels were preparing to sail through the strait, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship tracking data based on Reuters analysis of ship movements.

Vessels were seen around the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Musandam on Wednesday (June 24).

Qatari ‌Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani visited Muscat on Wednesday for talks with Oman on initiating negotiations involving Iran, Iraq and Gulf Arab states on the Strait of Hormuz, a diplomat briefed on the talks told Reuters.

The discussions are separate from U.S.-Iran peace talks and de-mining arrangements. Gulf states are expected to push for no transit fees, while Iran could propose environmental, navigation and security fees, the diplomat said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Oman announced two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane in the strait to facilitate the safe passage of vessels departing the region in coordination with the International Maritime Organization.

Under a phased plan developed by the IMO in coordination with Omani authorities, vessels will be grouped and contacted individually with instructions on when they may depart and which route they should follow.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

INTERNET (RECORDED JUNE 24, 2026) (MARINETRAFFIC - No resale / Must on-screen courtesy 'MarineTraffic') (MUTE)

1. TIMELAPSE OF MARINE TRAFFIC IN GULF AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ, FROM APPROXIMATELY 2300GMT ON TUESDAY, JUNE 23 TO 1120GMT ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, SHOWING SOUTH KOREAN-FLAGGED VL BREEZE, A VERY LARGE CRUDE CARRIER CARRYING 2 MILLION BARRELS OF QATARI CONDENSATE AND ABU DHABI CRUDE / VLCC PLATA CARRIER, CHARTERED BY INDIAN OIL CORP IOC.NS, WITH 2 MILLION BARRELS OF SAUDI CRUDE, ALONGSIDE SUEZMAX TANKER PRUDENT WARRIOR, WHICH IS HEADING FOR SOHAR, OMAN, WITH 1 MILLION BARRELS OF IRAQI BASRAH CRUDE, THE DATA SHOWED. BOTH ARE SAILING UNDER THE LIBERIAN FLAG

2. ZOOMED IN VERSION OF SHOT 1, FROM APPROXIMATELY 0500GMT TO 1120GMT ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24

INTERNET (RECORDED JUNE 24, 2026) (SULTANATE OF OMAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE - Access all) (MUTE)

3. ANIMATION OF STATEMENT FROM THE SULTANATE OF OMAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ABOUT INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARINE TRAFFIC TRAVELLING THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, OF A TEMPORARY MARITIME CORRIDOR

GRAPHICS (PUBLISHED JUNE 24, 2026) (REUTERS/OPENSTREETMAP - Must not obscure on screen credit/ No resale) (MUTE)

4. TWO GRAPHICS SHOWING THE SOUTHERN ROUTE OMAN SAID IT WOULD KEEP THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN TO SHIPPING WITHOUT IMPOSING ANY TOLLS, HAVING DESIGNATED TWO TEMPORARY ROUTES NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE EXISTING SHIPPING LANE TO FACILITATE THE SAFE PASSAGE OF VESSELS DEPARTING THE REGION

GRAPHICS (PUBLISHED JUNE 23, 2026) (REUTERS/OPENSTREETMAP - Must not obscure on screen credit/ No resale) (MUTE)

5. GRAPHIC SHOWING THE SOUTHERN TRANSIT ROUTE ALONG OMANI COAST THAT WAS CONFIRMED CLEAR OF MINES AND IS THE RECOMMENDED ROUTE, AS OF JUNE 23, 2026, BEFORE THE OMANIS CONFIRMED NEW ROUTE ON JUNE 24, 2026

MUSANDAM, OMAN (JUNE 24, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF VESSELS AROUND STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS SEEN FROM OMAN'S MUSANDAM