Strait of Hormuz Traffic Near Standstill as US-Iran Conflict Flares Again

US airstrikes on Iran enter second day as LNG carrier transits halt

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, has effectively ground to a halt as military conflict between the US and Iran intensifies again. With the US launching airstrikes on Iran for a second straight day, traffic through the strait has dropped to levels seen during the war, raising fresh concerns over global energy supply chains.

Bloomberg reported on July 9 that only limited vessel movement was visible in the Strait of Hormuz, and only on the northern lane approved by Iran. By contrast, the southern lane near Oman, backed by the US, was nearly empty.

Ship-tracking data showed that only two large vessels were passing through the strait: one tanker targeted by US sanctions and one Iranian-flagged container ship. Normal commercial shipping has, in effect, stopped.

Traffic has fallen sharply. Data firm Kpler showed that just 14 commodity carriers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on July 8. That was the lowest daily volume since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding ending the war on June 17.

In the three weeks after the MOU, an average of 34 commodity carriers moved through the strait each day. The figure reached 59 on June 24. During the war, however, fewer than 20 ships a day crossed the waterway on average, suggesting conditions have reverted to wartime levels.

Transit by liquefied natural gas carriers has also stopped. Still, two LNG carriers believed to be empty recently entered the Gulf of Oman and were moving toward the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Signs of signal interference have also reappeared around the strait. Bloomberg reported that early on July 9, some vessels appeared to be traveling at abnormal speeds of more than 30 knots in waters southeast of Lima in the Gulf of Oman. The disruption may have been caused by electromagnetic interference as nearby countries activated air-defense systems against possible drone attacks.

Oh Se-seong, Hankyung.com reporter sesung@hankyung.com