June and July Saw Moderate Ship Traffic in Strait of Hormuz

As military attacks between Iran and the U.S. escalate once more, traffic through the important oil chokepoint Strait of Hormuz has come to another halt. The U.S. resumed its blockade of the shipping route last week, while Iran attacked two tankers trying to slip through a mined route with missiles Monday night, killing one crew member. A memorandum signed by both sides had allowed ship traffic to start flowing again in June and oil prices had stabilized on the outlook of a peace deal, but both of these developments are now possibly reversing.

According to data from IMF PortWatch, a platform providing real-time data on port and maritime trade activity around the world, traffic through the strait rose in June and July, but stayed far behind levels seen in early 2026 before the conflict started.

An average of around 25 ships per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz between late June and early July, down from around 100 at the same time one year prior. Between July 13 and July 19, the latest data available from the IMF, this had already decreased to an average of 10 per day. Between 50 and 60 percent of the vessels passing through the strait are tankers carrying oil and liquefied gas, highlighting its crucial role in global energy trade.

The week’s escalations are the latest in a string of events since the U.S. and Israeli military jointly led strikes against Iran, which started on February 28. In response, Iran brought shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill by attacking and threatening several vessels in the Gulf. Many commercial ships, mostly tankers, were forced to anchor outside the strait, waiting for a resolution of the crisis, as Tehran insisted ships could only pass under Iranian control and for a fee. The U.S. answered with their own blockade of the strait, saying they wouldn't let ships carrying Iranian oil past their military fleet.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, serving as a gateway for roughly 25 percent of the world’s maritime oil trade. According to the IEA, an average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil products were shipped through the strait in 2025, with countries like Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz to ship their oil exports. Large volumes of liquefied natural gas from major Gulf producers also pass through this narrow corridor, making it indispensable to global energy markets and price stability.