Hormuz shipping grinds to halt as US-Iran conflict escalates

The maritime collapse follows a series of Iranian attacks on merchant ships and a corresponding U.S. naval blockade targeting regional trade. Shipping data confirms the strategic waterway is effectively paralyzed; for the second consecutive day, not a single Very Large Crude Carrier or liquefied natural gas tanker completed a transit. The uncertainty is forcing operators to reverse courses or delay departures entirely, as seen with the vessel Arolia, which turned back toward the Gulf after initially attempting to exit.

Energy infrastructure remains equally vulnerable. Iraq briefly shuttered its Basra export terminal following a drone strike on a tanker, and while operations eventually resumed, the fragility of the supply chain is evident. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have issued a stark warning that no energy exports will pass through the strait so long as U.S. military strikes continue, further threatening the route that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas. With insurers hiking premiums and commodity traders factoring in higher risk, the bottleneck at Hormuz is already exerting upward pressure on global prices, raising the specter of a broader crisis should regional hostilities spread to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.