Day 49: Re-Opening of Strait Didn’t Last Long

By Mark Davidson on April 18, 2026 • ( 0 )

(18 April 2026) It is now 10 pm MST April 18, or, 5 AM GMT, April 19. As of now, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked for 49 days.

Yes, it has been open to a few Iranian ships, and some Chinese ships, but on those days when one or two ships might get through the Strait, it’s still nothing compared to the 20 or so supertankers that would leave the Strait full of oil.

The Open Strait Didn’t Last Long

Yesterday’s post was wondering how long the Strait might remain open as a result of a brokered peace between the US and Iran.

Well, we didn’t have to wait long. Iran went back on the agreement and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, and said that it wouldn’t be allowed to re-open until the US allowed Iranian ships to come and go through the Strait. The IRGC radio message is as follows:

“Attention all ships, ⁠regarding ⁠the failure of the U.S. government to fulfill its commitment in the negotiation, Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz completely closed again. No vessel of any type or nationality is allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The US also said they would start boarding Iranian ships wherever they are, in response.

The IRGC Enforces Strait Closure

One rather distressing development was when the Indian oil tanker Sanmar Herald came under fire from IRGC boats. The Sanmar Herald, full of Iraqi oil and headed for India, received IRGC permission to go through the Strait. However, the ship had to turn back into the Persian Gulf. The Indian ship captain is recorded as radioing back to the IRGC the following message:

“You gave me clearance to go! You are firing now! Let me turn back!”

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

It has been closed 49 days now and so has removed about 730 to 980 million barrels of oil removed from the 1.2 billion-oil global inventory. If the Strait stays closed, the extra oil inventory will be wiped out come late May.

This all means the events since March 2 when the Strait of Hormuz was first closed by the IRGC, add up to the beginning of the Second Signpost. We will see if this continues and we will see if we are truly witnessing the Second Signpost.

Stay watchful.