Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appears to have ground to a near-halt after the latest escalation of hostilities between the United States and Iran, after Tehran attacked ships trying to pass the strait using the non-Iran-controlled southern Oman route, triggering a fresh cycle of escalation as Washington responded with a flurry of strikes.
Maritime traffic analysts—including at Lloyd’s List, LVision, and Windward—reported a sharp slowdown in vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz on July 8, reversing an earlier uptick in traffic through the maritime chokepoint that had heightened market confidence and helped push down crude prices to pre-war levels….