"Ship Traffic in Strait of Hormuz Drops 70%" [US-Iran Airstrikes]

NYT: "Ship Traffic Fell to Less Than One-Third on Day of Airstrikes"

The New York Times reported that, on February 28 (local time), the volume of ship traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz plummeted to less than one third of usual levels, following attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran.

Quoting a senior official from Kpler, the parent company of the ship tracking firm MarineTraffic, the New York Times stated, "As of late that night, the number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz had decreased by 70%."

Aerial photo of the Strait of Hormuz. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News Agency

This official explained that Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar were exposed to the greatest risks, noting that more than half of their seaborne crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are transported via the Strait of Hormuz.

However, according to vessel route tracking data from MarineTraffic and another data provider, Pole Star Global, some ships pressed ahead and made the passage through the Strait of Hormuz on that day.

According to TankerTrackers.com, a website that monitors global oil shipments, there were 55 oil tankers anchored in Iranian waters, with 18 of them loaded with crude oil and the remaining 37 anchored and empty.

On the day of the airstrike, the Iranian military announced that it had warned ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz that "it is currently unsafe." This has been interpreted as a signal that Iran may implement a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. However, it appears unlikely that Iran will be able to enforce a thorough blockade, and based on past precedents, there are predictions that Iran may instead conduct selective seizures or attacks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.