More ships, more sanctions: What ‘stable’ Hormuz ships traffic means
Hormuz vessel traffic holds "steady". That count, however, may also mask an undersireable situation: a weaker flow of oil through the chokepoint. MarineTraffic’s latest weekly snapshot (posted August 24, 2026) shows vessel crossings through two critical Middle East chokepoints — the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb — remaining roughly “stable”, or slightly higher week-over-week . Headline…
The Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint, saw 121 vessel crossings in the latest week, marking a 2.5% increase from 118 the previous week. However, this steady count may mask an undesirable situation: a weaker flow of oil through the chokepoint. Among the 121 crossings, laden (cargo-carrying) crossings plunged 27% to just 35, while ballast (empty) movements rose to 61. Sanctioned crossings also increased from 9 to 16. Iran's unilateral routing scheme accounted for 46.3% of all crossings.
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