Ship traffic in Hormuz almost halted after US and Iran attacks Clio

The United States attacked Iran for a second day on Thursday, with a fragile truce between the two sides looking increasingly unstable and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz nearly paralyzed.

Ship tracking data shows observable movement in the world’s most important energy pipeline occurs mostly along the Iranian-sanctioned route closer to the north of the waterway, while the U.S.-backed Oman corridor is quiet.

Among the larger vessels, only one U.S.-sanctioned supertanker sailed out of the Persian Gulf, alongside an Iranian-flagged container ship. However, some ships may transit with their transponders turned off.

Iran has launched a series of attacks on ships, causing the economy to slow. American strikeand President Donald Trump also said the ceasefire with Iran was over. About 14 commodity ships crossed the strait in both directions on Wednesday, the fewest since an interim peace deal was reached in mid-June.

This is in stark contrast to recent daily activity in the strait. Kpler data shows that in the three weeks since the United States and Iran agreed to a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the daily average of 34 commodity ships transiting the Strait reached a peak of 59 on June 24. By comparison, the number was less than 20 per day on most days during the war.

Read more: Some war insurers advise shipowners to suspend Hormuz voyages after attack: sources

While LNG tanker traffic through the strait remains at a standstill, two empty vessels have recently entered the Gulf of Oman and are heading toward the eastern entrance to Hormuz.

There are also signs that sporadic electronic interference is back, with ships southeast of Lima in the Gulf of Oman appearing to be traveling at unusually fast speeds of at least 30 knots early Thursday. This may indicate that countries are activating defense systems aimed at preventing hostile drones from attacking their infrastructure, which could affect ships’ transponder signals. Electronic interference may also affect ship tracking data.

Photo: Oil tankers and cargo ships anchored off the coast of Oman; Photo: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

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