Almost at a standstill! Only 2 ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz in 24 hours, and the U.S. "escort" failed to restore confidence

The Middle East conflict continues to escalate, and the Strait of Hormuz is approaching a near-total shutdown.

On March 6, Bloomberg reported that the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) stated in a notice that vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to single-digit levels, with only two commercial ships recorded passing through in the past 24 hours. This situation has been characterized by JMIC as “a near-complete suspension of routine commercial traffic.”

The report indicates that dozens of oil and gas tankers are currently stranded in the Persian Gulf, unwilling to attempt crossing the strait. Frequent attacks on ships have put energy tankers and cargo worth millions of dollars at extremely high risk. Meanwhile, international insurance companies have begun to withdraw war risk coverage, further fueling panic in the shipping market.

Despite measures taken by the Trump administration, such as oil tanker insurance guarantees and naval escort, the near interruption of passage through the Strait of Hormuz shows that market concerns remain unresolved. Oil prices have not surged as sharply as before but remain high and volatile. As of this report, Brent crude has risen slightly by 0.14%, staying above $85. The White House is currently weighing releasing strategic petroleum reserves and granting temporary exemptions for fuel blending to further stabilize prices.

Vessel Traffic Plummets, Strait Faces “De Facto Blockade”

As a critical global transportation route for oil and bulk commodities, the Strait of Hormuz has seen a sharp decline in traffic. The latest data from JMIC shows that on March 4, only one inbound and one outbound vessel were observed passing through the strait, with traffic at extremely low levels.

It should be noted that this statistic only covers ships with active Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals and does not fully reflect vessels passing covertly when signals are turned off. Currently confirmed vessels are both cargo ships, not oil tankers, indicating that energy transportation has effectively come to a halt.

In the face of international insurance companies withdrawing from war risk markets, Washington announced this week that it will provide insurance backing and deploy naval escorts to stabilize market confidence. However, these measures have yet to effectively alleviate shipowners’ concerns, with most oil tankers remaining stationary.

Amid ongoing expectations of supply disruptions, oil prices are likely to face upward pressure in the short term. The market will closely monitor the developments in the Middle East and whether shipping channels can be restored to normal as soon as possible.

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