As Germany prepares to send naval ships to the Mediterranean Sea, French President Emmanuel Macron has renewed his push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a warning from the chief of energy company TotalEnergies that a prolonged Iran war could trigger global energy shortages.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said his country will deploy ships to the Mediterranean so that when needed, they are positioned to join an international mission to secure shipping in the strait.

"A deployment in the (Strait of Hormuz) is only possible when we have a mandate from the (national parliament)," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper. "To save time, we have decided to send some of the units to the Mediterranean ahead of schedule, so as not to lose any time once we have the mandate."

Without indicating when the deployment would begin, he said a minesweeper and a support ship would be sent, with deployments in other areas reduced in agreement with partners.

The United States–Israeli war against Iran has slowed traffic through the strait, causing a significant global supply chain crisis for essential goods.

Beyond oil, the trade in fertilizers and pharmaceuticals is facing a near-standstill, as Iran has seized containers and the US has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

On Saturday, Macron reaffirmed his efforts to reopen the crucial waterway. Speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he warned that geopolitical uncertainty can fuel panic and, in turn, trigger shortages.

"Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with international law, guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on the Strait of Hormuz," the president said. He added that after this "things can gradually return to normal".

"We're all in ?the same boat, and it's not a boat we chose, if I may say. We're victims of geopolitics and we're victims of this war that started several months ago," the president added.

Patrick Pouyanne, the head of ?large oil and gas company TotalEnergies, had earlier called for the reopening of the strait, warning that if it continues, "we will enter a world where energy is scarce".

"We have now used all available surplus (reserves), but if this situation continues for another two or three months, we will enter a period of energy shortage," Pouyanne said.

"You cannot have 20 percent of the oil and gas of the planet being stranded and not accessible without major consequences," he said.

Speaking at the World Policy Conference, taking place in Chantilly and organized by the French Institute of International Relations, Pouyanne said "flexibility" is needed to deal with disruptions in the strait.

He said: "The fact that there are currently not enough export routes from the Strait of Hormuz is a fundamental problem. We must consider resilience as an investment — possibly in new pipelines to build a pipeline network."

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