Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to its lowest level since May as military tensions between the United States and Iran disrupt vessel movements through the strategically important waterway.
Shipping data from Kpler showed that an average of 10 commodity-carrying vessels per day transited the strait during the latest 10-day period. Traffic declined particularly sharply over the weekend, with only two vessels passing through on 5 September and six on 6 September. Most of those vessels travelled through the Iranian side of the waterway.
Context: Strait of Hormuz Intelligence File · Strait of Hormuz shipping guide · Strait of Hormuz
The reduction followed a series of strikes involving US and Iranian forces, as well as oil tankers operating in and around the strait. US Central Command said American forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on 5 September, including one near Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil export hub.
Operational context
Those strikes came after attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against US warships in the region. The IRGC Navy subsequently said it had targeted three oil tankers that it alleged were using unauthorised routes through the Strait of Hormuz, along with three other US vessels elsewhere in the region.
Uncertainty over commercial access could increase further after Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran planned to establish an exclusion zone around the strait.
Speaking to Iranian state broadcaster on 6 September, Rezaei said the zone would be announced in the coming days or weeks, although he provided few operational details. He described an area beginning at the line of the US naval blockade, extending towards the Strait of Hormuz and continuing into the Persian Gulf.
Rezaei also warned that vessels entering the proposed zone with the intention of transiting the strait could be identified by Iranian authorities and placed on Iran’s sanctions list.
The announcement followed Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles at US warships and the subsequent US strikes against Iranian tankers. The missile attacks represented a further escalation from Iran’s earlier maritime actions, which had largely focused on commercial shipping.
The prospect of a formal exclusion zone adds another source of uncertainty for shipowners and vessel operators assessing routes through the region. With transit numbers already sharply lower, additional restrictions or heightened perceptions of security risk could place further pressure on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.