Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz falls after Iran and US attacks

Merchant shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to its lowest level since May after attacks by US and Iranian forces in and around the vital waterway.

An average of 10 merchant ships a day passed through the strait during the latest 10-day period, according to data from ship-tracking company Kpler cited by Reuters. The period ran through Sunday, with the average reduced by weaker weekend traffic. Only two ships crossed on Saturday, followed by six on Sunday.

The decline came after US forces attacked three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, according to the US military’s Central Command. One tanker was attacked off Kharg Island, a major Iranian oil-export hub. The strikes followed attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on US warships in the region.

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A significant escalation of the conflict at sea.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said it had attacked three oil tankers traveling through the strait without permission, as well as three additional US vessels in other areas. Maritime security company Marisks described the attacks as “a significant escalation of the conflict at sea.”

The company said commercial tankers were now being deliberately used as tools of mutual economic pressure, erasing the earlier distinction between military confrontation and commercial shipping. UKMTO, a maritime information center under Britain’s defense ministry, said 27 projectile attacks had damaged ships in and around the strait since July 6. Kpler data showed that one large crude-oil tanker and three cargo ships carrying metals, grain or oilseeds entered the strait on Sunday.

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Commercial tankers are now being deliberately used as tools of mutual economic pressure, significantly blurring the previous distinction between military confrontation and commercial shipping.