Fewer than 20 ships transit key Strait of Hormuz over weekend, data shows

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

File picture of a drone view of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman. Overall traffic volumes remained suppressed in the week to August 21, as vessels ‌aborted transit plans or switched routes through the strait’s ​north after attacks, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said in a report. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at ​the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday (August 24, 2026), as Iranian and U.S. ‌blockades restrict traffic through the chokepoint for energy shipments.

Four vessels ​crossed the strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026), initial data ⁠from shiptracker Kpler showed by 0228 GMT, with 13 on Saturday (August 22, 2026). The figures could change as some ships had switched off transponders on their ‌way through.

That compared with Friday’s (August 21, 2026) figure of 16 transits, with two empty very large crude carriers (VLCCs) entering ‌the Gulf with the tracking devices switched off, one heading ‌to ⁠Iraq and the other to Bahrain, the data ⁠showed.

A VLCC carrying 2 million barrels of Emirati crude exited the strait on Thursday (August 20, 2026).

Eight very large gas carriers transited the strait over the past three days, ​the data showed, six ‌of them entering empty while the others carried liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) loaded from Iran and exited the Gulf.

Overall traffic volumes remained suppressed in the week to August 21, as vessels ‌aborted transit plans or switched routes through the strait’s ​north after attacks, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said in a report.

A total of 89 ⁠vessels exited the strait while 103 entered over the seven-day period, the report, based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, showed.

“Traffic remains ‌well below normal levels, with AIS-detected transits approximately 90% below pre-conflict baselines and declining since the June 24 to June 26 peak,” it added.

Tanker traffic, at 45% of the total, continued to dominate movement through the strait, the agency said. Of these, 56% were tankers that carry crude oil, oil products ‌or chemicals while LPG carriers accounted for a further 24%.

Since July 6, ​the UKMTO has reported 23 incidents of projectile strikes, leading to bridge, engine-room, and structural damage across vessels ⁠in the strait and its vicinity.

A total of 24 commodity ⁠vessels sailed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026), down from Saturday’s (August 22, 2026) figure of 32, which was an increase ‌from 22 on Friday (August 21, 2026), Kpler data showed.

Two VLCCs entered the Red Sea on Saturday (August 22, 2026) with one carrying Iraqi ​Basrah crude and the other empty, it showed.