Following an attack on a Taiwanese-operated ship by Iran, transit through the Strait of Hormuz saw a substantial slowdown on Friday, June 26. Ship tracking data indicated a sharp decline in tanker traffic, with only 13 transits in both directions on Friday, compared to 24 on Thursday and 27 on Wednesday. Overall sailings, including dry bulk ships, were at 62 transits on June 24, which is 53% of the traffic recorded on the same day last year. This marked a significant drop from the pre-conflict average of around 125 ships daily.
The attack occurred close to the Omani side of the waterway and involved the Evergreen Marine ship Ever Lovely, which was hit by an "unknown object." This incident led the UN shipping agency to temporarily halt its voluntary scheme to evacuate stranded ships and seafarers from the Gulf. The situation has been described by Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, as a "setback in the plans to evacuate ships and resume transits," highlighting the need for clear agreements between the U.S. and Iran regarding maritime traffic.
Despite the reduced traffic, some vessels continued to transit. At least four tankers, including three very large crude carriers capable of holding 2 million barrels of oil each, entered the Gulf to load oil. Additionally, two supertankers entered to load Iranian oil, and one tanker exited the strait with 2 million barrels of oil. Crude prices reacted to the developments by dropping more than 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, as top exporter Saudi Arabia resumed loadings in the Gulf, easing supply concerns.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharabadi stated that safe passage through the strait could not be guaranteed without coordination with Tehran, a stance that has been a point of contention with the U.S. Earlier, Iran had publicly claimed sole control over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz under a preliminary agreement with former President Trump, though the U.S. insisted the agreement did not grant Iran such control and that passage must remain open. This renewed tension underscores the ongoing disputes over the management of the critical chokepoint.
