Vessels are continuing to violate the US imposed blockade on Iranian ports while commercial traffic through the strait of Hormuz remains overwhelmingly controlled by Iran, despite US official's claims to the contrary.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said it redirected seven commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports as of 20 July. And today US president Donald Trump told reporters during a meeting with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun that the blockade was "... like a steel wall" and that no ships were getting through.
But data from vessel tracking service Vortexa shows that nine vessels departing or heading to Iran ports have transited through the strait of Hormuz since the US blockade was reimposed on 14 July. Of those nine vessels, six were empty inbound tankers that hold a combined carrying capacity of around 2.35mn bl of crude and refined products.
Commercial vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz have also overwhelmingly continued to use the Iranian-favored northern transit route, following an increase in attacks on vessels using the US-sanctioned southern traffic lane that runs along the coast of Oman.
Out of 11 strait of Hormuz transits into the Mideast Gulf on 20 July, 10 were through the northern, Iranian-controlled route while only one transited the southern, US-supported corridor, according to data from vessel tracking firm Windward. Of the vessels exiting the Mideast Gulf, three utilized Iran's northern route on 20 July and one used the southern route.
Iran-flagged vessels were also the most common vessels crossing the waterway on 20 July, accounting for six out of 15 total transits, per Windward data. Vessel traffic through the strait remains at around 11pc of prewar levels, according to Windward.
"US-assisted commercial transits continued with fewer ships, reflecting heightened operator risk assessments under the elevated threat environment," the UK Trade Maritime Organization said in its 21 July advisory note. "Recent attacks on tankers in Omani waters further influenced operator behavior and contributed to significantly reduced traffic density."
