Hormuz shipping nearly halted
- Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell to five vessels in 24 hours on Friday, April 24, after Iran seized two container ships and the United States kept blockading Iranian ports. - LSEG tracking data showed just five transits, including one Iranian oil-products tanker, versus more than 100 ships a day before the war; CNBC counted six crossings on April 22. - The strait carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas, and weeks of disruption have lifted fuel and freight costs. (nbcnews.com)
Only five ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the 24 hours ending Friday, April 24, according to shipping data cited by Reuters. (usnews.com) That count included one Iranian oil-products tanker. Before the war, more than 100 ships crossed the strait on a typical day. (usnews.com) (cnbc.com) The latest drop came after Iran seized two container ships this week and after the United States kept its naval blockade on Iranian ports and vessels in place. (cnbc.com) (usnews.com) The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas used to pass through it before the fighting shut normal traffic down. (nbcnews.com) (abcnews.com) Washington and Tehran both said on April 17 that the strait was “completely open,” but the reopening was partial from the start. President Donald Trump said the U.S. blockade would still apply to Iranian shipping, and Iran said vessels had to follow routes it coordinated. (politico.com) (abcnews.com) Traffic never recovered. CNBC reported about a dozen commercial vessels crossing on Monday, six on Tuesday, six on Wednesday, and then Reuters reported only five in the next 24-hour window. (cnbc.com) (usnews.com) The security picture also worsened this week. CNBC reported that a gunboat from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired on a container ship Tuesday, and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center warned ships about “high levels of activity.” (cnbc.com) NBC News reported that U.S. gas prices jumped more than 30% in March and rose above an average of $4 a gallon as the war disrupted flows through the strait. Its tracker said oil and other key goods have been hit by weeks of near-standstill traffic. (nbcnews.com) For shipowners and cargo buyers, the result is not a formal closure but a corridor that is barely functioning. Five ships in a day through a passage that normally handles more than 100 is close enough to a halt that global trade is already pricing it that way. (usnews.com) (cnbc.com)
