Commercial Traffic Through Hormuz Strait Surges After US-Iran Deal
By RFE RL
The number of commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz reached 25 on June 18, according to various trackers, marking the highest number since mid-April.
The increase comes following an agreement between Iran and the United States to open the energy chokepoint as part of a memorandum of understanding to end the war and engage in further talks to reach a permanent deal.
Plans to hold negotiations in Switzerland on June 19 were scrapped but that does not appear to have impacted Iran’s intention to keep the strait open.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said in a notice on June 19 that it was waiving transit feels for the 60-day negotiation period but that vessels looking to cross the strait must submit transit requests ahead of arrival.
“Verified Strait of Hormuz crossings reached 25 on [June 18], marking a notable increase in daily maritime activity,” the shipping-data firm Kpler wrote in a post on X on June 19.
Another marine intelligence company, AXSMarine, confirmed the number, adding that the strait had seen the largest volume crossings since April 18.
“Pre-conflict commercial traffic through the Strait was around 110 crossings per day,” it said in a news release.
Since March 1, crossings averaged 7.6 per day, according to AXSMarine.
While the uptick in crossings suggests operating conditions are improving, “unresolved implementation details and continued dark crossings indicate a continued elevated degree of caution with ship operators,” Kpler said.
Following US and Israeli strikes that ignited war on February 28, Iranian forces effectively shut down the strait. Dozens of shipping attacks were reported by maritime authorities during the conflict, which paused after a cease-fire agreement on April 8.
Before the war, the strait carried around 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas traffic.
