According to the shipping company Windward, only six vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the night of July 9 to 10. This is a significant decrease compared to the figures from several days earlier, when between 18 and 22 vessels passed.
Reduction in Shipping
This marks the third consecutive night of reduced traffic in this strategically important waterway. The situation is complicated by Iranian attacks on vessels, which provoked retaliatory strikes from the US and counterattacks by Iran on neighboring Persian Gulf countries.
Change in Movement Patterns
Windward reported that outgoing voyages have almost ceased: only one vessel passed on the last night, whereas from July 5 to 7 there were between 15 and 21. Furthermore, the company noted an increase in 'dark transits'—instances where vessels switch off their transponders to conceal their location. These 'dark transits' now account for nearly 40 percent of all traffic, the highest figure in the last six days.
Details of Traffic Decline
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply during the night. Between 18:00 UTC on July 9 and 06:00 UTC on July 10, only 6 vessels were registered, significantly below the usual rate of 18–22 vessels observed earlier this month. Thus, this is the third consecutive nightly trend toward a reduction, approaching a quarter of the level recorded at the beginning of July.
