HORMUZ CROSSINGS FALL TO SEVEN AS RED SEA ROUTE ALSO SLOWS

Developing story: Vessel counts, transponder behavior, insurance rates and shipping advisories may change as the U.S.-Iran and Red Sea situations develop.

Commodity ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained in single digits Thursday, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters, showing that the waterway is still operating far below normal as U.S.-Iran diplomacy remains frozen. The data showed seven commodity ships sailed through the strait, down from the previous day’s tally and far below prewar commercial flow.

The seven Hormuz crossings included four vessels entering and three exiting. Reuters reported that no very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers were among them, although one very large gas carrier carrying propane and butane exited through the Iranian route. That detail matters because the largest crude and LNG vessels are the most economically significant for global energy supply.

The Strait of Hormuz carried nearly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February. A handful of daily crossings does not equal a full closure, but it does show a corridor that remains too uncertain for normal commercial scheduling, insurance and cargo planning.

The Bab el-Mandeb route also weakened. Kpler data showed 23 commodity ships transited the Red Sea chokepoint Thursday, down from 34 on each of the two previous days, Reuters reported. No very large crude carriers or LNG tankers passed through Bab el-Mandeb on Thursday, leaving another major energy and trade passage under pressure.

The simultaneous strain on both chokepoints is the larger story. Shipping companies can sometimes work around one risky route by delaying, rerouting or adjusting insurance. If Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are both impaired, fewer options remain, and costs can spread through oil, gas, food, chemicals and manufactured goods.

Public vessel-tracking data has limits because ships moving with transponders off are not captured. That means the numbers may not represent every vessel moving through the waterway. Even so, visible activity is itself a useful measure because it shows what regular commercial traffic is willing to report and what insurers can easily verify.

The slowdown also undercuts political claims that the crisis is easing. Washington and Tehran continue to dispute the status of Hormuz, while shipowners are behaving cautiously. Markets tend to trust vessel movement more than statements, and the data show that normal confidence has not returned.

What is confirmed is that Hormuz crossings stayed in single digits Thursday and Bab el-Mandeb traffic also fell. What remains unresolved is whether shippers are temporarily waiting for clearer rules or adapting to a longer period in which the region’s most important maritime routes operate under permanent war risk.

Fact-check date: August 21, 2026. Article type: News. Sources: Reuters; Kpler. Developing note: Vessel counts, transponder behavior, insurance rates and shipping advisories may change as the U.S.-Iran and Red Sea situations develop.