New shipping data for the past 24 hours shows only five vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, including an Iranian-flagged oil products tanker, as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to curtail movement through the chokepoint.
The scale of the slowdown is stark compared with the roughly 140 daily transits recorded before the conflict that began on February 28. The current level of traffic comes after Iran seized two container ships earlier this week and as the U.S. maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Route restrictions and safety concerns
Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at shipping association BIMCO, said that shipping companies will need a reliable ceasefire and concrete assurances from both parties that the strait is safe before normal transit levels can resume. "For most shipping companies, they will need a stable ceasefire and assurances from both sides of the conflict that the Strait of Hormuz is safe to transit," Larsen said.
He added that, in the short term, vessels are being confined to corridors close to the Iranian and Omani coasts. "In the meantime, shipping will be restricted to using routes close to Iran and Oman. Due to their confined nature, these routes cannot safely accommodate the normal volumes of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," Larsen said.
Vessels observed and tracking details
Among the few ships that sailed out of the strait in the latest 24-hour period was the Iranian-flagged oil products tanker Niki. Data compiled by Kpler and vessel tracking information on the MarineTraffic platform showed the Niki - which is subject to U.S. sanctions - leaving the strait with no destination listed.
Analysts noted it was unclear what would occur if the Niki continued eastward toward the blockade line enforced by the U.S. Navy.
Shipping group Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that one of its vessels crossed the strait but did not provide details on the timing or circumstances of that transit.
Separately, the Comoros-flagged supertanker Helga arrived on Friday at an offshore oil loading terminal in Iraq's southern Basra port. It was the second vessel to reach Iraq since the closure of the strait.
Seizures and maritime security
Iran's use of a swarm of small, fast boats to take control of two container ships near the strait on Wednesday has intensified concerns among shipowners, charterers and oil firms about the safety of seaways in the region. Peter Sand, chief analyst at ocean and air freight intelligence platform Xeneta, said the incidents demonstrated that an 'open' Strait of Hormuz is not necessarily a safe one. "The latest seizures make clear, even an 'open' Strait of Hormuz is not a safe Strait of Hormuz for seafarers, ships and cargo," Sand wrote in a note.
Analysis from Lloyd's List Intelligence showed that between April 22 and early April 23, seven vessels transited the strait, six of which were involved in Iran-related trade.
Broader economic and human impacts
Authorities and market watchers say the closure of the strait has disrupted about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies and has precipitated a global energy crisis. Hundreds of ships and some 20,000 seafarers were reported stranded inside the Gulf, with war risk insurers and oil companies closely monitoring the situation for any sign of reduced peril that would allow preparations to resume regular sailings through the waterway.
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Data sources and limitations
The account above is based on recent shipping tracking data and public comments from analysts and shipping groups. Where details were not available, such as the future intentions of specific vessels or the precise timing of some transits, those limitations are reflected rather than speculated upon.