Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz plunged to just three ships on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, down sharply from 12 a day earlier. Preliminary tracking data highlights severe disruptions to global energy corridors as conflict in the Gulf intensifies and Houthi forces advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Strait of Hormuz Traffic Dwindles to Single-Digit Transits Amid Escalating Gulf War
Commercial shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed this week as military hostilities across the region intensified. Shipping data from Kpler shows that only three commodity vessels navigated the crucial waterway on Wednesday, representing a steep drop from the 12 ships recorded just a day prior and falling far below the 10-day average of approximately 17 vessels.
The diminished traffic follows a broader downward trend in the Persian Gulf. Earlier in the month, transits hovered near five vessels per day, significantly trailing a pre-crisis baseline where the strait typically handled about 125 large commercial carriers—including tankers, gas carriers, and container ships—daily before the Iran war began on February 28, 2026. Wednesday’s count of three excluded any vessels utilizing dark routes with their Automatic Identification System transponders deactivated to avoid detection.
According to maritime tracking data cited by regional observers, the vessels navigating the strait on Wednesday included an empty Supramax dry bulk ship entering via the Iranian route, an empty petroleum product tanker utilizing a dark route, and a Panamax tanker exiting the waterway similarly undetected. The near-total absence of liquid bulk carriers underscores the acute risks facing oil and gas transport in the Gulf.
Of the three vessels, an empty Supramax dry bulk ship entered the Strait via the Iranian route, while an empty petroleum product tanker entered through a dark route, shipping data from Kpler showed at 0445 GMT. A Panamax tanker exited the waterway using a dark route, the data showed.
Regional Conflict and Houthi Advances Compound Red Sea and Gulf Disruptions
The sharp contraction in maritime commerce stems directly from intensifying military engagements. Vessel traffic dropped this week as war in the Gulf intensified. Saudi Arabian warplanes pounded Yemen and Houthi fighters launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities. The Iran-backed Houthis’ rapid advance in Yemen along the Red Sea coast, attacks on Saudi Arabia and damage to the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline have widened Tehran’s reach in the conflict and raised risks to global oil supplies.
The security situation along Yemen’s western coast deteriorated further when Houthi fighters seized strategic Perim Island within the Bab el-Mandeb Strait alongside the city of Dhubab in western Taiz province, local military sources confirmed to Anadolu Agency. These territorial gains compound maritime anxieties that began mounting after the group announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi port traffic.
Divergent Chokepoint Pressures: Bab el-Mandeb Holds Steady Near Reduced Averages
While Hormuz traffic fell into the single digits, activity at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait remained steady near recent depressed levels. Vessel crossings through the southern Red Sea corridor eased to 21 on Wednesday (September 16), compared to 24 vessels a day earlier. In the Red Sea, vessel crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait eased to 21 on Wednesday, compared with 24 vessels a day earlier.
Commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has fallen to around 26 vessels a day in recent days, compared with a pre-Red Sea crisis average of about 70, ship-tracking data showed, raising concerns about the prolonged impact of security risks on one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. Data compiled from maritime tracking systems showed that 25 commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, with 11 entering the Red Sea and 14 exiting. Traffic increased to 28 vessels on Wednesday, including 16 inbound and 12 outbound ships, before easing to 26 on Thursday, with 10 entering and 16 leaving. A total of 79 vessels therefore crossed Bab el-Mandeb over the three days, producing a daily average of around 26 vessels. Kpler data put the broader 10-day average at around 27 vessels per day.
Total daily crossings through Bab el-Mandeb have hovered around 26 to 28 vessels in recent weeks—roughly half of the pre-crisis average of 71 vessels recorded prior to the outbreak of the Gaza war in late 2023 and subsequent shipping attacks. On Tuesday, a Saudi oil tanker was stopped while transiting through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media reports. Meanwhile, at the other chokepoint, the Bab-el Mandeb strait, the number of vessels transiting was at a three-day high of 27, Kpler data showed, with 14 entering and 13 exiting. Five of the 27 vessel transits were either Aframax- or Suezmax-sized crude tankers, according to the data. None of the vessels that entered or exited were very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers.
| Waterway | Recent Daily Transits | Pre-Crisis Baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Strait of Hormuz | 3 vessels (September 16) | ~125 vessels |
| Bab el-Mandeb Strait | 21–27 vessels | ~71 vessels |
As Gulf producers seek alternative export routes through Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the compounding security threats across both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb continue to test global supply chains and force extended maritime detours around the Cape of Good Hope. AIS-based figures may also underestimate actual movements because some vessels transit with their transponders switched off to reduce their visibility amid heightened security risks.
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