Why the strait matters
The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and, beyond it, the Arabian Sea. For the ports of Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Bahrain it is the only sea route to the open ocean. Before the crisis, most of the seaborne exports of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran also went through it.
Before the 2026 crisis, according to 2024 data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the strait carried:
- about 20 million barrels a day of oil and petroleum products, roughly a fifth of world consumption;
- about a fifth of world trade in liquefied natural gas, mostly from Qatar.
By the same EIA data, 84% of the crude oil and condensate that passed through the strait in 2024 went to Asia, most of it to China, India, Japan and South Korea. The unused capacity of the Saudi and UAE pipelines that bypass the strait was only about 2.6 million barrels a day, by an EIA estimate published in 2025.
Who controls the strait
At its narrowest the strait is about 39 km wide. The whole northern shore is Iranian. Iran also holds the islands in and near the strait: Qeshm, Hormuz and Larak, as well as Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, which the UAE claims. The southern shore is Oman's Musandam Peninsula.
The traffic separation scheme adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) lies in Omani waters: two lanes, each 2 nautical miles wide, one in each direction. Iran's coast and islands lie just to the north. In 2026 a warning from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the first attacks on ships were enough to stop traffic: insurers withdrew war-risk cover, and shipowners stopped sending ships.
The 2026 crisis
- February 2026. The United States and Israel struck Iran, and Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed. The IRGC announced over the radio that no ships would be let through the strait. Within hours traffic fell by about 70%, and by early March it had almost stopped.
- March 2026. Tankers and other ships were attacked, including by uncrewed boats, and seafarers were killed. Insurers withdrew war-risk cover. Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel for the first time in four years. Members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) began the largest release of emergency stocks ever, 400 million barrels. Iran offered safer passage to countries that would expel US and Israeli ambassadors, then closed the strait to ships going to or from ports of the United States, Israel and their allies.
- April 2026. A temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran did not bring shipping back. Iran began letting through some ships of "friendly" countries. The United States began a blockade of Iranian ports. According to the IMO, about 2,000 ships and 20,000 seafarers were stranded in the Gulf.
- May–June 2026. The United States escorted ships out of the Gulf with warships and lifted the blockade of Iranian ports at the end of May. The presidents of the United States and Iran, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a memorandum to end the war, but a few days later Iran declared the strait closed again.
- July–August 2026. The temporary truce collapsed after Iranian strikes on merchant ships. The United States said it had cleared the lanes of the traffic separation scheme of mines.
- Since summer 2026. Iran and Oman discussed new rules for passage. Iran sought control over inbound traffic and a fee for passage, Oman said it would not charge one, and Donald Trump demanded toll-free passage. Attacks on ships went on in September and October 2026.
What it changed
A fifth of the world's oil went through the strait, so the crisis was felt far beyond the Gulf. Oil rose above $100 a barrel, IEA members released record emergency stocks, and in autumn 2026 they gave priority to releasing diesel stocks. In summer 2026 war-risk insurance for ships in the strait cost 3–10% of a ship's hull value, according to The National, against about 0.25% before the crisis.
Why the map can show few ships
Before the crisis about 85 ships a day passed through the strait. In autumn 2026, by counts based on IMF PortWatch data, AIS signals showed only a handful of transits a day. The map does not show ships with AIS switched off, so real traffic may be higher than the map shows.
South of the strait, off Fujairah and Khor Fakkan on the UAE coast, many ships usually lie at anchor: Fujairah is one of the world's largest bunkering hubs, where ships take on fuel and wait for cargo or for passage. Zoom out to see them. UKMTO and JMIC publish current advisories for ships.