While the Strait of Hormuz remains technically open, the flow of commercial shipping through one of the world's most important energy chokepoints remains well below normal.

The slowdown illustrates that reopening a strategic waterway is only part of restoring confidence.

Commercial shipowners must also determine whether the route is sufficiently safe before committing multi-million-dollar tankers and cargo vessels.

Insurers likewise continue to assess the risk of missile attacks, naval confrontations, mines or other threats before underwriting voyages through the Gulf.

As a result, energy analysts say uncertainty remains over how much crude oil is actually leaving Gulf export terminals, even though the strait itself has not been fully blocked.

Shipping companies have repeatedly said they need greater operational clarity before normal traffic resumes.

Last week, Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, the world's largest international shipping association, said the U.S.-Iran memorandum raised important unanswered questions.

Among them are designated safe transit routes, traffic separation measures, convoy sequencing, reporting procedures, naval escorts and emergency response protocols.

"The next step is for shipowners to be reassured that transiting the Strait of Hormuz is not only permitted but also safe," Larsen said.

Insurance executives say security conditions remain highly fluid.

"It's from day to day, hour to hour," Evan Greenberg, chief executive of shipping insurer Chubb Ltd., told Fox News on Sunday.

Greenberg described the Gulf as operating in what amounts to a "war zone environment," noting that only a limited navigation channel is currently being used.

"Only a narrow channel is really being used to transit, and so it limits the number of ships that can actually go in and out," he said.

According to Greenberg, naval forces continue working to expand available transit lanes, a step that could gradually allow more vessels to pass safely through the strait.

For oil markets, the uneven recovery underscores that the risk premium tied to Middle East tensions has not disappeared.

Many traders had hoped the recent diplomatic understanding between Washington and Tehran would quickly restore normal tanker movements and ease concerns over global crude supplies.

Instead, shipping activity has recovered only in fits and starts, reflecting continued caution among commercial operators.

Until insurers lower war-risk premiums, shipowners regain confidence and maritime authorities establish more predictable security procedures, analysts say any full normalisation of oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz is likely to take weeks rather than days.

For now, the world's most strategically important oil corridor remains open—but still operating under the shadow of conflict.

Following IRGC attack on the Singaporean vessel, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) temporarily suspended its voluntary vessel movement and evacuation framework in the area, while the US and Iran have exchanged military strikes amid escalating tensions.

Shipowners, insurers and traders continue to weigh persistent security risks despite a US-Iran understanding aimed at reducing tensions.

Hours after Iranian officials announced they were closing Hormuz, the US Central Command sought to reassure markets, saying commercial traffic continued through the waterway.

"Safe passage through the international waterway remained intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets," CENTCOM said Saturday.

The statement suggested that maritime traffic had resumed under military protection following days of heightened tensions in the Gulf.

Commercial shipping data, however, paints a more complicated picture.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward reported Sunday that vessel movements through Hormuz slowed sharply within a day of Iran's announcement.

According to the company, only 12 commercial vessels transited the strait on Sunday, down from more than 21 on Saturday.

Windward also noted that European and neutral commercial vessels were largely absent, while five of eight inbound ships were operating in "dark mode" by limiting or disabling public vessel-tracking transmissions.

"The MOU-driven recovery that began June 18 has stalled within 24 hours of the announcement," the company said.

Instead of returning to normal commercial activity, Windward said current shipping patterns more closely resemble those seen during previous periods of heightened regional tensions, with traffic dominated by Iranian-linked, sanctioned or less transparent vessels.