Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained broadly halted on Tuesday, with only three ships passing through the strategic waterway in the past 24 hours, according to shipping data.
A US blockade of Iranian ports has angered Tehran, prompting it to maintain its own restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is one of the world’s most critical energy routes, typically handling around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The tanker Ean Spir, which had no known flag or ownership, transited through Hormuz on Tuesday after previously calling at an Iraqi port, according to ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform.
The cargo vessel Lian Star, also with no known flag or ownership, similarly passed through the strait from an Iranian port, the same data showed.
Separately, the LPG tanker Meda, which had earlier called at a United Arab Emirates port, crossed the strait on Monday during its second attempt to exit the Gulf. It had previously turned back, according to satellite analysis from data firm SynMax. The vessel also had no known flag or ownership.
These limited movements contrast sharply with normal operations, as the strait previously saw around 140 ships passing daily before the US-Israel conflict with Iran escalated on February 28.
More than a dozen tankers briefly transited the strait after Iran temporarily declared it open on Friday, but Tehran later announced its closure on Saturday and reportedly fired shots at vessels, further escalating tensions.
Shipping broker BRS warned that “even vessels that appear to meet conditions for safe passage can still face danger and disruption”, highlighting the unpredictable security situation in the waterway.
A ceasefire between the United States and Iran also appeared increasingly fragile on Tuesday, with Tehran not confirming participation in new peace talks. At the same time, the US military said it had seized a tanker linked to Iran in international waters.
Meanwhile, hundreds of ships and around 20,000 seafarers remain stranded inside the Gulf, unable to leave due to the ongoing risks.
“We cannot put at risk the lives of the seafarers,” said Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the UN’s International Maritime Organization, speaking at Singapore Maritime Week.
He added that recent developments showed how quickly conditions had deteriorated, noting that ships were targeted shortly after brief openings in the strait, although no casualties or vessel damage were reported.
Iran’s military said an Iranian tanker had entered its territorial waters from the Arabian Sea on Monday with assistance from the Iranian Navy, despite what it described as repeated warnings and threats from a US naval task force.
Shipbroker BRS estimated that around 61 non-Iran-linked supertankers are currently trapped inside the Gulf, with about 50 of them carrying cargoes of up to 2 million barrels each.
BRS further noted that an additional release of oil from the region would be significant for global supply, especially at a time of tight energy markets and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.