Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on August 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Ship crossings via the Strait of Hormuz were still in single digits on Monday (August 17, 2026), despite rising slightly from the weekend, according to preliminary shipping data on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), amid a stalemate in U.S. and Iranian peace talks.
Six commodity ships transited the strait on Monday (August 17, 2026), of which three were exiting the Gulf and three were entering, Kpler shiptracking data showed, compared with the 10-day average of 11 ships. Three ships transited on Saturday (August 15, 2026) while two moved through the waterway on Sunday (August 16, 2026).
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There were no very large crude carriers (VLCC) or tankers carrying liquefied natural gas passing through.
Some vessels could be passing through the strait with their transponders switched off and they are not considered in the tally.
The very large gas carrier (VLGC) Xavia entered the strait via the Iranian route under ballast, meaning empty of a cargo, according to the data. VLGCs are typically used to ship liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane.
A medium-range fuel tanker and an intermediate-range tanker also entered the Gulf, the data showed, while a medium-sized LPG carrier, a Panamax bulk carrier and a Panamax-sized fuel tanker exited the Gulf.
Bab el-Mandeb crossings
At the chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, 19 commodity vessels transited on Monday (August 16, 2026), Kpler data showed, lower than a 10-day moving average of 26 and Sunday’s (August 15, 2026) 33 crossings.
Out of the 19 ships, five were entering the Red Sea and 14 were exiting.
Of the 14 exits, one was the VLCC Norns laden with 2 million barrels of oil, according to the data. Of the ships entering, two were the liquid tankers Admiral and Portofino, with the Portofino loaded with diesel bound for west of Suez markets.
Published – August 18, 2026 11:48 am IST
