Ships transiting the strait of Hormuz are increasingly using the traffic lane designated by Iran following the resumption of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and US attacks on Iranian targets around the narrow waterway.
Vessel-tracking service Windward shows that out of 18 strait of Hormuz transits into the Mideast Gulf on 15 July, 13 were through the northern, Iranian-controlled route while only one transited the southern, US-supported corridor. It is unclear what route the remaining four vessels took because they transited with their Automatic Identification Systems switched off and radar tracking could not identify them.
For vessels exiting the Mideast Gulf, eight vessels utilized Iran's northern route out of the 11 vessels that transited the strait on 15 July. One vessel used the southern route, and two were unable to be tracked, according to Windward.
Commercial vessel traffic through the strait remains at a fraction of prewar levels as a result, with a combined 29 vessels transiting through the waterway on 15 July, around 22pc of prewar levels, data from Windward shows.
The US has continued to encourage vessels to transit the strait via the southern route along Oman's coastline, which is the path that Iran has been targeting, increasing risks to mariners. Iran views transits on non-Iranian controlled routes as violations of the 18 June interim agreement and truce that broke down last week and as a challenge to its control over the waterway.
Commercial traffic through the strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on 28 February has been bifurcated between the northern route, which runs along the Iranian coastline, and the southern route along the Omani coast because of suspected Iranian-placed mines throughout the typical transit lanes in the center of the strait.
This change in traffic patterns is the second time in less than a month that increases in vessel attacks by Iran and subsequent attacks by the US aimed at destroying Iran's ability to attack vessels has resulted in higher usage of the Iran-favored traffic lane through the strait.
