The Economist, one of the world’s leading business magazines, wrote a few weeks ago: “Whatever happens in the Strait of Hormuz, energy markets have been changed for ever”.
The Strait of Hormuz separates the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean. In The Persian Gulf are located the export ports of major oil and gas exporters Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The strait is only about 40 km wide at its narrowest point, and about a fifth of the world’s fossil energy has passed through it. Oil and gas have been transported mainly to China, India, South Korea and other parts of Asia.
US attack on Iran
On the morning of the last day of February, the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, which the US Department of Defense named Operation Epic Fury. In response to this attack, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping a few days later.
This closure of the strait almost immediately reduced the availability of oil, which has already almost doubled the world market prices for oil and gas. In practice, this is already visible at oil pumps all over the world.
The International Energy Agency IEA, concerned about the availability and price of oil, has already released its oil reserves for use and suggests, for example, that the demand for oil could be reduced through remote working, carpooling and public transport.
The war shows no signs of abating. Twenty thousand sailors are stuck on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The latest phenomenon has emerged that Iran has given ships from friendly countries permission to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. It is said that this opportunity has been offered more widely in return for compensation.
Unfortunately, we cannot here in the north breathe a sigh of relief and say that fortunately Hormuz is very far from us. The oil and gas market is international. Although previously oil from the Persian Gulf has been exported mainly to Asia, gasoline and diesel prices have risen here as well and will continue to rise.
Economists are calculating the impact of the crisis and predicting that the entire world will enter a recession. The situation is already being compared to the oil crisis of the 1970s. At that time, driving speeds and apartment temperatures were lowered, among other things.
More serious effects now include a permanent increase in interest rates and, due to a lack of gas, a decrease in the availability of fertilizers, for example, which weakens food production worldwide.
Ukrainian attacks on the Gulf of Finland bring war closer
Unfortunately, the rise in energy prices is not our only problem in the Hormuz crisis. The price of gasoline has also risen in the United States, reducing President Trump’s popularity among his voters. Trump has lifted US sanctions on Russian oil shipments. In other words, Russia has now received more money both because the price of oil has risen and also because these sanctions on the shadow fleet have been lifted.
Ukraine is concerned about the accumulation of Russia’s war chest and thus the increase in Russia’s military power. The latest twist in the Strait of Hormuz crisis is the Ukrainian attacks on the Primorsk and Ust-Luga oil ports almost on the Finnish and Estonian borders. The attacks have been so significant that they have almost completely stopped Russian oil exports from these ports.
The situation is shocking overall. The price of fossil fuels is rising, the war in Ukraine has moved to our neighboring areas, and at the same time, shadow fleet ships are accumulating in the Gulf of Finland waiting for cargo from bombed Russian ports.
Oil dependence, the availability of oil, and the activities of the shadow fleet are a threat to our security of supply. The best guarantee for efficient energy-intensive production, heating and transport in the future is a shift to alternative fuels, such as solar, wind, bio and nuclear energy, hydropower and hydrogen-based fuels.
At the same time, the demand for alternative renewable energies is increasing, and our expertise in the production of alternative energy forms and other technologies, such as electricity storage, is increasingly important. Could this be our new technological cutting edge?
The article was previously published in Navigator Magazine, an online magazine for maritime professionals, on 2.4.2026
Tales of Talsinki 