File PHOTO: Drone image shows ships near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman | Photo credit: REUTERS
Vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz remained in single digits at four on Tuesday, up from seven a day earlier, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday, well below the 10-day average of 18.
The drop in traffic on the waterway, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the war with Iran, comes as attacks in the region intensify.
According to the data, out of the total number, two ships were leaving and two were entering on Tuesday.
No very large crude oil tankers or liquefied natural gas tankers were involved.
Some vessels may be navigating the waterway with their transponders turned off, so they are not counted.
One very large LPG carrier, the Salyut, carrying about 470,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas, exited via the Iranian route, while the Panamax-sized tanker Nautilus, carrying approximately 510,000 barrels of naphtha, exited via an unknown dark route.
Both ships that entered were loaded: one was a short-distance dirty product tanker, and the other was a bulk carrier. Both entered via the Iranian route.
Meanwhile, the number of ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait stood at 22 on Tuesday, little changed from 24 the day before.
Published September 16, 2026