Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains near a standstill for a seventh day, with Iran-linked commercial vessels being the only ones making the crossing in the past 24 hours.
During the observed window, one Iran-linked bulk carrier departed the Persian Gulf, according to vessel-tracking data. No ships appeared to make the journey in the opposite direction.
The last commercial ship with no apparent link to Iran to transit Hormuz was a Chinese-owned bulk carrier that made the crossing on Saturday morning.
Traffic through this vital energy artery has effectively halted following several attacks on merchant ships. Missile and drone activity continues to pose a critical risk to all vessels in the vicinity.
The inability to move oil tankers into and out of the Gulf means storage tanks are filling up, forcing some refineries to cut capacity. One major Middle Eastern producer has been forced to scale back production, while neighboring countries have followed suit. Another regional power is boosting shipments from its terminals in the Red Sea to record levels.
By Friday, there were just nine empty supertankers in the Gulf, tracking data shows.
Widespread signal interference and disabled transponders have made real-time tracking of ships difficult around the Strait of Hormuz. This gap in reporting prevents consistent daily oversight, as ship locations often remain unknown until they reappear on satellite feeds days later.
Because vessels can move without AIS signals until they are well away from Hormuz, automated position signals were compiled over a large area covering the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to detect those that may have departed or entered the Persian Gulf.
When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine if the movement appears genuine, or is the result of spoofing—where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship.
Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting AIS signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.
This Hormuz tracker is being published during heightened tensions involving Iran, and aims to capture traffic for all classes of commercial shipping.
