Oil tankers that were stranded for an extended period due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are now unable to resume operations because of barnacles attached to their hulls, CNN reported.

Analysts suggest that as the sea route through the Strait of Hormuz reopens and the global energy supply chain begins to recover, a new obstacle has emerged.

According to shipping industry sources, large oil tankers that have been anchored in the Persian Gulf for the past few months are now covered in marine life, including barnacles, mussels, and seaweed.

If these are not removed, fuel efficiency drops sharply, and in severe cases, the propeller can be damaged, potentially forcing the vessel to be scrapped.

Experts predict that significant time and costs will be required to deploy professional divers to clean the ships before normal operations can resume.

For very large crude carriers, the ships are over 305 meters (1,000 feet) long and 46 meters (150 feet) wide, with a hull surface area of approximately 14,000 square meters (150,000 square feet) per vessel that needs cleaning.

A work team consisting of 5 to 6 divers uses hand scrapers and high-pressure washers to remove the buildup, a process that takes 4 to 5 hours per ship.

Furthermore, with about 600 oil tankers currently anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, it is expected to take a considerable amount of time to complete the cleaning for all vessels.

This means that the departures of these oil tankers could be delayed one after another due to the severe bottleneck in the "barnacle removal" process.

As demand for hull cleaning services surges, the associated costs have also jumped to tens of thousands of dollars per ship.

CNN assessed that "even though the Strait of Hormuz has reopened, the oil market will not return to normal as if flipping a light switch."