Strait Of Hormuz News

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed, with only five vessel crossings recorded on March 4.Bab el-Mandeb traffic surged to 23 crossings, sitting above recent averages.Suez Canal activity dropped to 23 crossings, falling below trend levels.Cape of Good Hope diversions remained elevated, confirming continued rerouting of global trade.A crude tanker explosion near Kuwait damaged a cargo tanker and triggered an oil spill…

Seafarers have the right to refuse to sail on ships passing through the Middle East Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, after the threat level for the region was raised to its highest level, the leading labour union and shipping industry groups said on Thursday.Around 300 ships are anchored on both sides of the Strait while the U.S.-led war against Iran escalates. Since February 28, nine ships have been damaged and at least one seafarer has been killed.As part of negotiated arrangements reached on Thursday between mariners and commercial shipping companies…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they had hit a U.S. tanker in the northern part of the Gulf and the vessel was on fire. There was no immediate confirmation of the incident or of a similar attack that Iran claimed earlier this week.The Guards said in their Thursday statement carried by state media that, in time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be under the control of the Islamic Republic.(Reuters - Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; additional reporting by Jonathan Saul; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

The U.S.–Iran war widened on Wednesday after a U.S. strike hit an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, deepening a crisis that has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for a fifth day and choked off vital Middle East oil and gas flows.The U.S. submarine strike on the Iranian vessel came as U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to provide insurance and navy escorts to ships exporting oil and gas from the Middle East in a bid to contain soaring energy prices.At least 200 ships…

MSC, the world's largest carrier of ocean container cargo, said on Tuesday all cargo bound for ports in the Gulf will be offloaded at the nearest safe seaport due to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.The move, known as an "End of Voyage" declaration, also applies to empty containers that have been released for loading with cargo and are intended for export to the ports in the Gulf, Geneva-based MSC said in a customer advisory.A mandatory surcharge of $800 per container will apply to all affected shipments…

London's marine insurance market has widened the area in the Gulf it deems as high risk as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, according to an advisory issued on Tuesday.Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations over insurance premiums.The JWC added waters around Bahrain, Djibouti…

Greece's shipping minister on Tuesday called for the protection of global shipping and seafarers, amid an "alarming" situation that has left dozens of ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider area due to the widening Iran conflict.Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ⁠was closed for a fourth day on Tuesday, choking off a key artery accounting for about 20% of global oil and gas supply. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said on Monday Iran would fire on any ship trying to pass through…

Iraq has cut oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day and those cuts could widen to more than 3 million bpd within days as the country runs out of storage and cannot export crude due to the Iran crisis, two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters on Tuesday.As of Tuesday, Iraq has cut production from the Rumaila oil field by 700,000 bpd, from the West Qurna 2 field by 460,000 bpd and from the Maysan field by 325,000 bpd, the officials, who did not wish to be named, said.That output cut could grow to over 3 million bpd if oil tankers cannot move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and reach

Container ships account for roughly 100 of the 750 ships ensnared in the Strait of Hormuz backups following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, Jeremy Nixon, CEO of container carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE), said on Monday."About 10% of the container ship global fleet is caught up in this," Nixon said at S&P Global Market Intelligence’s TPM26 container shipping conference in Long Beach.Maritime insurers ceased covering voyages through the strait between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of gas, as Iran retaliated against U.S.

At least 25 ships from seven German maritime companies, including two cruise ships carrying about 7,000 passengers, are stranded in Gulf waters and cannot leave through the Strait of Hormuz for security reasons, Germany's shipowners' association VDR said on Monday without naming the companies. Dertour and TUI Cruises said earlier they had suspended or adjusted travel plans across the Middle East after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran spurred retaliatory action.Some details from…

The United States issued fresh guidance on Monday to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for Middle East oil supplies, as tensions simmered between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program.Iran has in the past threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz, a portion of which lies within its territorial waters, and has at times seized commercial ships and oil tankers moving through the area alleging smuggling.The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration…

A group of Iranian gunboats approached a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said on Tuesday.The Iranian boats ordered the tanker, the Stena Imperative, to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded before it could speed up and continue its voyage, maritime risk management group Vanguard said.The vessel did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters and was escorted by a U.S. warship, the maritime risk management group said. An American official confirmed it was U.S.

At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. bombing raids, Iran's Press TV said on Sunday, after parliament was reported to have backed the measure.Iran has long used the threat of closing the Strait, through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows, as a way to ward off Western pressure which is now at its peak after the overnight U.S.

At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel.

Iran could shut the Strait of Hormuz as a way of hitting back against its enemies, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday, though a second member of parliament said this would only happen if Tehran's vital interests were endangered.Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure, and shipping sources said on Wednesday that commercial ships were avoiding Iran's waters around the strait."Iran has numerous options to respond to its enemies and uses such options based on what the situation is…

Frontline, the owner of Front Eagle oil tanker which was involved in a collision with Adalynn, a tanker owned by India-based Global Shipping Holding, has confirmed the collision was a navigational incident and not related to the current regional conflict between Israel and Iran.The incident occurred approximately 15 nautical off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman, off the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at 00:15 local time on June 17, 2025.All the crew onboard the Front Eagle are reported safe…

Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and LNG cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission and this policy should be carried out from "tomorrow [Wednesday] for a hundred days."It was not immediately clear whether Khandouzi was echoing a plan under theIranian establishment's consideration or sharing his personal opinion.Tehran has long used the threat of blocking the narrow waterway as a means to ward off Western pressure, without acting on its threats.

Three empty oil and chemical tankers have diverted away from the Strait of Hormuz and changed course, Marine Traffic ship tracking data showed on Monday, amid growing uncertainty over whether Iran will take reprisal action in the vital waterway after U.S. airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.The Marie C and Red Ruby, which were in ballast rather than carrying cargo and previously sailing towards the Strait, dropped anchor near Fujairah off the United Arab Emirates coast.The Kohzan Maru was sailing in the Gulf of Oman close to Omani waters…

The Front Tyne oil tanker was sailing through the Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday when just past 9:40 a.m. shiptracking data appeared to show the massive vessel in Russia, in fields better known for barley and sugar beets.By 4:15 p.m., the ship's erratic signals indicated it was in southern Iran near the town of Bidkhun, before later placing it back and forth across the Gulf.Mass interference since the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran has affected nearly 1…

Commercial ships are sailing close to Oman and are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, with the risk of the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating, shipping sources said on Wednesday.Iran has in the past threatened to close the critical Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Any closure of the strait could restrict trade and affect global oil prices.In the latest measure, ships sailing towards Hormuz…

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz have been broadcasting unusual messages concerning nationality in a bid to avoid being attacked as doubts linger over the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, according to maritime risk analytics firm Windward and ship tracking data on Thursday.The signals have been used since conflict broke out between Israel and Iran early this month, which led the U.S. to strike Iranian nuclear sites.U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire after 12 days of war but the maritime threat remains elevated…