Strait of Hormuz shipping drops to three vessels

Commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped significantly, with only three ships recorded passing through recently. This is a sharp decline from 12 transits recorded the previous day and a 10-day average of nearly 17 vessels.

Industry estimates suggest oil flow through the strait has fallen to approximately 6–9 million barrels per day, a substantial decrease from the previous volume of 20 million barrels per day. Some vessels are reportedly disabling their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to avoid detection and targeting.

Lieutenant Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), stated that traffic through the strait “continues to flow” and rejected suggestions that Iran controls the waterway. Hawkins noted that since early May, U.S. forces have assisted in moving over 900 million barrels of crude oil to the global market while simultaneously enforcing an effective blockade, having redirected more than 100 vessels attempting to violate it.