Eleven Turkish-owned vessels have safely transited through the Strait of Hormuz and left the Gulf since the beginning of the war, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Tuesday.
Uraloğlu said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that Ankara is closely monitoring developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf "moment by moment” and remains in constant contact with vessels and Turkish citizens in the region.
With the departure of two more vessels on the morning of June 21, the number of Turkish-owned ships that have safely exited the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war rose to 11, he said.
A total of seven ships are still in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf region, with 177 Turkish citizens serving on board, he added.
One of the vessels sails under the Turkish flag.
The minister said Türkiye will continue to take all necessary measures under all circumstances to ensure the safety of its citizens and ships.
In April, Uraloğlu announced that the Turkish-owned crude oil tanker Ocean Thunder, carrying crude oil from Iraq to Malaysia, had safely passed through the strait with support from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
At the time, the minister said several Turkish-owned ships were waiting around the Strait of Hormuz and that Turkish authorities were working to secure the safe transit of vessels and their crews.
Before the recent U.S.-Iran deal, the region had been on alert since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 3,000 people to date, including the then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets. It also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and global energy shipping routes.
