Hormuz Traffic Plummets As Vessels Steer Clear Of Omani Route After Fresh US-Iran Strikes

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply over the weekend after fresh exchanges of strikes between the US and Iran and renewed safety concerns in the key shipping lane. Data from maritime tracking firms showed a clear drop in vessel movements in the critical waterway.

According to Kpler, a total of 29 commodity vessels crossed the strait on Saturday, but this fell to just 12 on Sunday.

The slowdown came after a vessel was struck while transiting the waterway, only two days after another attack on a ship in the region.

The incidents added to tensions between Washington and Tehran, which have been trying to maintain a fragile understanding aimed at ending the war in West Asian.

Vessels avoid Omani corridor

Traffic through the southern Omani corridor, a key transit route

into the Gulf, dropped sharply on Sunday. Only four tankers and one container ship used the route to enter the Gulf, all under US Navy escort, according to research firm HFI Research.

No vessels were recorded leaving the Gulf through the same corridor on Sunday, Kpler data showed.

By Monday afternoon, only limited movement was recorded, with just one vessel entering and one leaving through the Omani route. Kpler said outbound traffic had fallen more sharply than inbound flows, suggesting ships were still entering the Gulf but delaying departures.

AXSMarine reported a similar trend, detecting 36 crossings on Saturday and 19 on Sunday. It also noted that several vessels stopped transmitting AIS signals in the region following the earlier attacks, although analysts warned that signal disruption and spoofing make it difficult to confirm the exact cause.

Heightened risk despite partial stabilisation

Despite the disruption, shipping through the strait has not fully stopped. Some vessels continued to use alternative Iran-approved routes, including passages north of Larak Island.

Iran also warned ships against using unauthorised routes through the strategic waterway.

Since Saturday, more ships have entered the Gulf than departed, reversing a trend seen over the previous week, when efforts focused on evacuating seafarers stranded in the Gulf.

“Inbound traffic has remained relatively stable. The decline is almost entirely in outbound traffic,” AXSMarine analyst Mihail Todorov told AFP on Monday.

A UN-led operation to evacuate 11,000 seafarers was suspended on Thursday after a vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman.

(With inputs from AFP)