More than 800 ships are now backed up in and around the Strait of Hormuz as Iran signaled it may allow limited passage for certain vessels, highlighting the scale of disruption to a waterway that normally handles a significant share of global energy shipments, according to reporting by The New York Times.

Iran has indicated that "non-hostile" ships may be permitted to transit if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, while vessels tied to the United States, Israel, or their allies could still be denied access, creating a conditional and uncertain reopening of the strait, the Times reported.

The backlog has built after weeks of conflict effectively halted traffic through the narrow channel, where ship movements fell from typical daily volumes of around 100 or more vessels to almost none at points earlier in the crisis, according to maritime data.

The disruption stems from a broader war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, during which Iran warned ships not to pass and carried out attacks on commercial vessels, contributing to a sharp decline in tanker traffic and leaving ships waiting outside the strait for safer conditions.

Shipping companies and insurers have been reluctant to resume operations because of ongoing security threats, including drone and missile strikes and the risk of naval mines, which have turned one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints into an active conflict zone, according to analysts and maritime advisories.

Even with Iran's signal that some traffic could resume, it remains unclear how quickly the backlog of hundreds of ships can clear or whether operators will risk entering the strait, where passage now depends not only on navigation but also on geopolitical alignment and rapidly shifting military conditions.