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TRANSCRIPT:
When ship captain Raman Kapoor last spoke with the media, his ship had been stationery in the Strait of Hormuz since hostilities broke out between the US and Iran in February.
He is still there, with many others.
"I mean, there are hundreds of ships around me. Most of them are oil tankers and there are containers as well. Yes - earlier, we have passed this strait a hundred times."
As the Captain waits for a sign that he can proceed to his destination, there are conflicting reports emerging the latest developments in the conflict.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says two missiles hit a US Navy warship near the port of Jask at the southern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's navy has a base.
A senior US official has denied the report.
Instead, the US Admiral Brad Cooper has told Fox News that Iran launched missiles, drones and small boats at ships the U.S. was protecting in the Strait, and that it had sunk six Iranian small boats that were targeting civilian vessels.
"We defended both ourselves and consistent with our commitment, we defended all commercial ships. We had drone launches at commercial ships all of which were defended against consistent with our commitment. And the small boats were going against commercial ships. And all were sank by Apaches and Seahawk helicopters."
The Admiral says military assets are in place to enforce what the Trump administration is calling 'Project Freedom' to guide ships moving through the crucial waterway.
Breaking Iran’s chokehold would ease global economic concerns and deny Tehran a major source of leverage in talks aimed at ending the war.
But UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says he's not sure how effective the US plan will prove to be.
"I think we're still trying to fully understand exactly what this means. But that being said, our position remains the same, that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened."
Europe is preparing for the worst-case scenario.
European Union finance ministers have met in Brussels to discuss the impact of the Strait of Hormuz blockade and US President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis says the E-U should prepare for its long-term closure.
"Expectations for a rapid de-escalation of the crisis in the Middle East have not been confirmed. This is the difficult reality we're facing, and we must address it with realism and responsibility."
Their preparations have come amid concern that these latest developments in the Strait mean the ceasefire is looking increasingly tenuous.
Besides the activity of Iranian and US ships in the waterway, firefighters in the United Arab Emirates have finished battling a blaze at Fujairah's major oil industry zone, following a drone attack which authorities said had originated from Iran.
The Gulf Arab state's foreign ministry have said in a statement that the attacks are a serious escalation and pose a direct threat to the country's security.
US President Donald Trump says the conflict - that he has referred to as a mini war - is going the way he wants it to.
"Our country is booming now, despite the fact that we're in a - I call it a mini war because that's all they are. They don't have a navy anymore. Think of it - they had 159 ships. How many do they have left, Kelly, out of 159, take a guess. She's very smart. Zero. 159 ships in the first two weeks; 159 ships. I actually got very upset. I said, how quality were the ships? They were very good. I said, 'why didn't you just take the ship? Why did you have to send it to the bottom of the sea?' We could have had - let's say out of the 159 we could have taken 59, we would have had 59. But they liked, they'd rather blow them up than save them. I would have preferred saving them. But these are minor details."
Iran has maintained that any interference in the strait would be seen as a ceasefire violation.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned the United States and the United Arab Emirates against being drawn into a quagmire by what he called "ill-wishers."
But he's also striking a conciliatory tone.
He says events in the Strait of Hormuz shows there is no military solution to the crisis, and that talks are making progress with Pakistan's mediation.
The United Nations has also not given up efforts to bring about a breakthrough.
Stephane Dujarric says the Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services - Jorge Moreira da Silva - is leading a task force for the Strait.
"His mission that was announced last week was postponed. But he will continue with consultations this week in New York with key interlocuters on a Mechanism for a humanitarian corridor. There is a growing number of countries supporting the creation of a Mechanism to prevent a massive food security crisis. And we will keep you updated on that.”
Meanwhile, for Captain Kapoor, supplies are running low, as well as morale - and there is no telling when things will improve.
"Ever since there was a ceasefire announced, situation was pretty normal. No attacks were there. But past few days, it's been choppy again, you know... Past few days, there is several attacks been reported on merchant ships once again. It is quite disturbing and my crew morale is again going down."
