Kuala Lampur, June 28 -- A ceasefire on paper is not a ceasefire at sea.

Problems on land between the US and Iran invariably produce new problems at sea. Political understandings signed in capitals may reduce the probability of immediate escalation, but they rarely eliminate the operational realities faced by naval commanders, drone operators and commercial shipping companies navigating one of the world's most contested waterways.

The Strait of Hormuz remains the clearest example of this enduring dilemma.

Through this narrow maritime corridor passes roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas exports. The real question is therefore not whether Washington and Tehran can reach a memorandum of understanding or ...