Strait of Hormuz marks first full day’s pause as no ships cross amid Iran war
Transits fell to zero on Saturday but vessels have clustered outside corridor, signalling expectations of reopening, analytics firm says
Maritime tracking data showed that no ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, marking the first full day without any confirmed commercial traffic in either direction since February 28, when the US and Israel began military strikes on Iran.
Crossings dropped to zero, below the previous seven-day average of 2.57 daily transits, according to maritime analytics firm Windward. Although no vessels entered the waterway that day, about 400 ships sailed in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, it said.
“The concentration suggests that many vessels are holding position outside the Strait of Hormuz, rather than dispersing globally, potentially reflecting expectations that the corridor may reopen,” the company said.
Several ships linked to Pakistan and Turkey were confirmed to have passed through the corridor on Friday under apparent authorisation or special circumstances, Windward said.
Global shipping routes are shifting amid the turmoil in the Middle East. Traffic around the Cape of Good Hope increased, flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa remained stable, and transits through the Suez Canal dropped sharply, the firm said.
“Taken together, the current maritime picture is defined by visible paralysis inside the Strait of Hormuz, conditional exceptions for selected vessels, continued global re-routing and widening disruption across energy infrastructure, logistics and maritime policy frameworks,” Windward said.
Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US and Israel air strikes. Only 77 vessels had transited since March 1, compared with 1,229 ships between March 1 and March 11 last year, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Iranian officials have reportedly suggested that oil tankers may be granted safe passage if transactions are conducted in Chinese yuan, and said vessels not linked to the US or Israel could potentially still cross.
Some ships have begun identifying themselves as Chinese-linked near the Strait of Hormuz to reduce the risk of attack.