Türkiye is continuing efforts to evacuate eight of its vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Uraloğlu said Türkiye had initially had 15 ships in the strategic waterway before it was effectively shut after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February.

Three of the Turkish-owned ships have already been safely withdrawn, the minister said.

Of the remaining 12 vessels, four are not seeking evacuation as they continue operations in the area, he noted. Two of these are power-generating ships, while the other two are engaged in ship-to-ship cargo transfer activities.

"The remaining eight ships are being handled under the coordination of our Foreign Ministry. We hope to remove them in the coming days," Uraloğlu said.

The war shut in about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments that usually transited through the waterway before the conflict.

Shipping remained constrained despite a two-week cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran. As of Monday, the U.S. has also enacted a blockade of shipping leaving Iranian ports.