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Red Sea Traffic Rebounds as Hormuz Shipping Remains Suppressed

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Commercial vessel traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait rebounded on Tuesday, while vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz remained depressed amid persistent Iranian military activity and heightened security risks, according to maritime data released on Wednesday.

The latest data from MarineTraffic, posted on X, show that 46 vessels crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, up 53%, with 30 entering the Red Sea and 16 exiting. No dark transits were recorded on Tuesday.

Total transits on Tuesday are up from 30 vessels reported on Monday, and 45 on Sunday, according to MarineTraffic data.

The uptick comes amid ongoing regional instability, as commercial traffic in the southern Red Sea continues to operate at suppressed levels following a Houthi-declared naval blockade of Saudi Arabia initiated on July 20.

In contrast, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz declined 17% to 10 confirmed crossings on Tuesday, compared with 12 transits on Monday.

Tracking data indicates that six vessels exited the Middle East Gulf and four entered.

Five transits used Iran's Unilateral Scheme, while no crossings were confirmed under the Hormuz Traffic Separation Scheme, according to a post on X by Kpler.

However, ship transits have increased this week, with only three ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

The subdued activity reflects continued security concerns around one of the world's key energy chokepoints.

The International Maritime Organization's daily Strait of Hormuz incident tracker showed that the total number of confirmed maritime security incidents in the region was 66 as of Wednesday.

An incident was reported on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz where a bulk carrier was damaged, and a seafarer was killed, according to the tracker.

The IMO tracker provides a daily log of verified strikes on ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, with the earliest incident recorded on March 1.

US military activity is also adding another layer of uncertainty for commercial shipping.

The US Army has redirected 65 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two to enforce its blockade against Iran as of Aug. 19, according to an X post on Wednesday by the US Central Command.

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