New Delhi: The Strait of Hormuz is technically open, but commercial shipping is far from normal, according to Anil Deoli, chief executive of the Mumbai-based Indian National Shipowners Association. Deoli said, with 14 Indian ships stuck in this chokepoint and the first Indian ships to be attacked by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, there is bound to be some sense of hesitation among the sailors. “Technically, Hormuz is open. Ships are transiting, but the risks to commercial traffic are still very high,” Deoli told TOI. “We understand that some neutral-flag ships are transiting with Iran’s tacit permission or US protection,” Devali said, but “normal traffic” has stopped. The ships that are sailing are doing so on borrowed time and on borrowed trust. When the first Indian ship came out, then the second, sixth, seventh, eighth – confidence was growing. Then, on 18 April, IRGC boats fired on two Indian-flagged ships: VLCC Sanmar Herald and bulk carrier Jag Arnav. An audio captured the Sanmar Herald’s radio plea: “Sipah Navy! You cleared – I’m second on your list. Now you’re firing! Let me back!” The incident prompted India to raise the matter with the Iranian ambassador regarding the safety of its sailors, but the confidence of Indian sailors – already fragile – was broken. “‘You cleaned me out yourself,’ the captain was heard saying to the Iranians over the radio. It tells you the level of uncertainty that sailors on ships passing through the strait are dealing with,” Deoli said. During the peak of hostilities last month, supplies, food distribution and basic services for Indian sailors and crew members were disrupted. That situation has since stabilized, Deoli said. India has facilitated the movement of eight LPG vessels so far.