The number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to a quarter of pre-conflict levels after the latest exchange of strikes between the US and Iran, maritime data shows.
Just 23 tankers and cargo ships made the transit on Wednesday, according to intelligence firm Kpler, down from 47 a week earlier. The drop follows an attack on three vessels using a US-recommended route through Omani waters. Iran has repeatedly insisted that the only safe passage is through its own northern corridor.
“Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 23 ships a day after fresh US-Iran strikes, down from 138 before the conflict.”
Before the conflict began, an average of 138 ships passed through the strait each day, through which more than a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows. After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, traffic fell to a handful of ships daily. Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking ships and laying mines, while the US responded with a blockade on all shipping to and from Iranian ports.
A deal signed on 17 June included steps to reopen the strait, with Washington lifting its blockade and easing sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Traffic initially rebounded to a peak of 72 ships on 24 June. However, the agreement did not resolve the dispute over control of the waterway. Iran has insisted it has the right to introduce fees and dictate routes, while the US, its Gulf allies, Europe and Asia demand free passage.
After the deal, Iran set out a system of lanes in the north, which it said all traffic must use. "The only safe route for the passage of commercial ships and oil tankers in the strait is the route determined by the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's top military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, reiterated after this week's ship strikes.
In response, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) – a multinational group including the US – recommended ships take a different route through Omani waters in the south. The number using that route grew to a peak of 28 on 25 June, overtaking the Iranian route. Then on 25 and 27 June two ships in Omani waters were struck, and Iran warned all vessels to only use its approved routes.
President Donald Trump accused Iran of a "foolish violation" of the truce, and the US military conducted strikes on Iranian targets. The strait remains at the centre of a volatile standoff, with global energy supplies hanging in the balance.