Mike Baker

As most know by now, roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply passes through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

When the conflict kicked off and shipping through the strait was disrupted, the consequences rippled across the global economy.

Oil production dropped, tankers were stranded, strategic reserves were tapped, and energy markets were thrown into turmoil.

Well, now comes the difficult part, getting everything moving again.

As of Monday morning, shipping traffic in and around the Strait remained unusually quiet.

Some crews told the Journal they had not yet received instructions to start engines or prepare for transit.

Others reported that GPS signals, which had been disrupted during the conflict, had only recently returned.

Even before the agreement was announced, however, traffic had begun to slowly recover.

According to shipping data cited by the Journal, roughly 10 ships per day were passing through the Strait during the first week of June.

Now, that may sound encouraging until you compare it to normal conditions.

Before the conflict, more than 100 vessels a day routinely transited the waterway.

In other words, traffic is still operating at a fraction of its normal volume.

And there is now a significant backlog.

Hundreds of vessels have spent months sitting idle in warm Gulf waters.

Some have been anchored in place for more than 100 days.

and that has created a surprisingly mundane problem.

According to shipbrokers and crew members interviewed by the journal, algae and barnacles have accumulated on many hulls, reducing speed and fuel efficiency.

Some ships will require cleaning before they can return to normal operations.

Then there's the question of insurance.

War risk premiums surge during the conflict, of course, and remain elevated.