Shippers Face Deepening Dilemma as U.S. and Iran Vie for Control of the Strait

Harry Vafias, a chief executive of a shipping company, recently got one of his vessels out of the Persian Gulf on a route protected by the U.S.military.But after Iran and the United States attacked each other this week, all but ending the truce the countries agreed to last month, Mr.

Vafias, the head of StealthGas, based in Athens, said he was holding off on moving another ship through the Strait of Hormuz.“Things are becoming uglier by the minute,” he said in an email, “so we are not taking the other out till we see what happens.”The factors that Mr.Vafias had to weigh typify the dilemma facing numerous other ship operators: They are eager to resume normal business but face great peril if they do.

On Friday, an international body that assesses maritime risks reiterated the threat level in the strait as severe.In the early days of the war, as many as 1,500 ships were stranded when Iran seized effective control of ship traffic in the strait.A deal signed in mid-June by President Trump and Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, offered hope that more ships would get through.

And many did, ferrying supplies critical to global energy markets.But even after the deal, Iran has continued to claim its waters as the only viable route.In response, ships made more use of paths close to Oman’s coastline, guided and protected by the United States military.

The reliance on the Omani route has drawn Iran’s wrath.This week, after Iranian attacks on three vessels, the United States struck 170 targets in Iran in retaliation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Qatari mediators on Friday attempted to salvage the cease-fire....