Oil tanker traffic through Hormuz at near standstill as attacks strain Iran truce
Source: Reuters
July 9, 2026 8:44 AM EDT Updated 8 hours ago
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the U.S. renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf.
Just two tankers had so far sailed through the strait in the early hours of Thursday. They included the crude supertanker Berg 1, which had loaded at Iran's Kharg Island and is subject to U.S. sanctions, according to analysis from Kpler.
The Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker Well Sail, also transited the strait, Kpler analysis showed. Its previous loading destination was near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, according to LSEG ship tracking data. Shipping industry sources said vessels were increasingly switching off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it harder to see all of the ships crossing.
"Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has essentially stopped, which tells you more about risk perception right now than any statement from Washington or Tehran," Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, wrote in a report.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/oil-tanker-traffic-through-hormuz-near-standstill-attacks-strain-iran-truce-2026-07-09/
Midnight Writer
(26,076 posts)WSHazel
(977 posts)And Reuters is playing along with stories like this.
Most of the Gulf suppliers are using alternative routes to get oil out. Iraq is shipping overland through Syria, and the Saudis, UAE and Qatar are using the Saudi cross-Arabian pipeline. Iran also has alternative ways out of the Gulf. It is more expensive, and they can't ship as much, but they are getting oil out.
Much of the "smart" money, plus Iran and the Trump cronies, appear to be really long the oil market, and are trying to talk the price up even tough demand destruction and alternative shipping routes are making the Strait much less important than it was 5 months ago.
My suspicion is that a lot of traders are going to lose their shirts if oil does not cross back over $100/barrel.
paleotn
(23,234 posts)I read that Chinese firms have been more of less out of the oil market in recent months, drawing on PRC reserves. Those reserves are down significantly. When that 800 lb gorilla starts hoovering up available crude, oil prices will spike. It seems Wil E. Coyote has run off the cliff and reality will set in shortly.
Gas is back above $4 here today despite the futures market. Still a full 25% above prices last Feb. How's that for inflation.
SamuelTheThird
(1,600 posts)2) Markets are being manipulated
3) China hasn't been importing and is using more electric
4) algos trade on trumps DEAL! headlines
5) Hopium and delusion, always present before trouble
Im probably missing some
1,2,3, 5, are all subject to reversal
Miguelito Loveless
(6,102 posts)No ceasefire. We are at war. Anyone in the Gulf is a target.
William Seger
(12,594 posts)... but it did.
3Hotdogs
(15,818 posts)I look at the difference as my contribution to the D.N.C. They can hammer the Repukes with the price increase caused by Der Gropenfuhrer.
pat_k
(14,729 posts)But, didn't the Felon-in-Chief pronounce the ceasefire "over" in front of the world??
"Over" goes a bit beyond "strain."
Or don't you take the word of the man who wears the title POTUS seriously?