Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below 2025 levels as attacks and harassment of merchant vessels continue, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said in a note on Thursday.
The UKMTO said three attacks were reported during the 48-hour period under review, with one fatality confirmed and the remaining crews reported safe. The US Central Command said in an X post on Wednesday that its forces had redirected 115 commercial vessels while enforcing what it described as America's "steel wall blockade" as of Sept. 23.
TankerTrackers.com said that almost 6 million barrels of seized Iranian crude, worth about $600 million, are moving across the Atlantic toward the US. Three Iran-linked tankers carrying the crude were identified in the Atlantic, with the cargoes headed toward the US.
However, the pressure extends beyond the strait. The UKMTO reported no confirmed attacks or disruptions in the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb during the period, but said commercial traffic remained depressed following a July 20 Houthi embargo declaration and territorial gains along Yemen's coast.
The Houthis continue to control the coastline and islands overlooking the eastern approaches and both channels of the Bab el-Mandeb.