Traffic diverges across chokepoints Maritime traffic trends diverged sharply across the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. Hormuz crossings fell 28% to 77, with laden voyages declining from 45 to 33. Sanctioned and shadow fleet crossings dropped from 50 to 23, while 40 transits remained Route Undetermined and 32 used Iran’s unilateral scheme. Bab el-Mandeb moved in the opposite direction. Crossings recovered 9.7% to 248 and laden traffic rose from 103 to 109. Dark transits held near 23 and TSS adherence remained around 91%. The data points to growing pressure on Gulf shipping, while Red Sea traffic continues to show greater operational resilience.

Hormuz crossings fall by half as Bab el-Mandeb traffic holds steady Vessel activity through the Strait of Hormuz declined sharply on 31 August, with five confirmed crossings, down 50% from 10 the previous day, according to #MarineTraffic# data. Four vessels entered the Middle East Gulf, while one exited. The crossings followed a mix of Iranian, Omani and negotiated routes and included two shadow-fleet vessels and one sanctioned vessel. This figure remains preliminary, as “dark” crossings may be retrospectively identified and added as new confirmation data becomes available. By contrast, activity through Bab el-Mandeb remained broadly stable, with 35 confirmed crossings, up 2.9% day-on-day. Nineteen vessels entered the Red Sea and 16 exited, with no dark transits or new IMO-confirmed attacks recorded.

Hormuz crossings fall by half as Bab el-Mandeb traffic holds steady Vessel activity through the Strait of Hormuz declined sharply on 31 August, with five confirmed crossings, down 50% from 10 the previous day, according to #MarineTraffic# data. Four vessels entered the Middle East Gulf, while one exited. The crossings followed a mix of Iranian, Omani and negotiated routes and included two shadow-fleet vessels and one sanctioned vessel. By contrast, activity through Bab el-Mandeb remained broadly stable, with 35 confirmed crossings, up 2.9% day-on-day. Nineteen vessels entered the Red Sea and 16 exited, with no dark transits or new IMO-confirmed attacks recorded.

Chokepoint traffic holds, risks shift #MarineTraffic# data show vessel traffic remained active through Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb last week, although headline volumes mask significant changes in the underlying mix. Hormuz recorded 121 crossings, up 2.5% from 118. Laden crossings fell 27% to 35, while ballast movements rose to 61 and sanctioned crossings increased from 9 to 16. Iran’s unilateral routing scheme accounted for 46.3% of crossings. Bab el-Mandeb recorded 269 crossings, up 3.1% and roughly 2.2 times Hormuz volumes. Laden transits increased to 131, while dark transits fell from 23 to 15. The figures show why vessel-level tracking matters when assessing changing maritime risk.

Strait of Hormuz traffic holds steady amid fragmented routing The Strait of Hormuz remained open and active on 30 June, with 34 verified crossings recorded, according to #MarineTraffic# data. Traffic was evenly split by direction, with 17 crossings each way, and included a broad mix of commercial, energy-linked and support vessels. Route visibility, however, remained fragmented, with vessels using Iranian, Omani, IMO and Dark or Unknown routes. The pattern points to continued operational flow through the chokepoint, but not yet a settled return to normal routing. Maritime-security concerns also remain elevated, with the IMO incident tracker now listing 49 confirmed regional incidents, including a newly confirmed physical attack on Bochem Marengo.