Hormuz Ship Traffic Edges Higher, But Kpler Warns Gulf Crude Exports Remain Impaired

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slightly increased as US-Iran negotiations remained ongoing in an effort to restore peace after the memorandum of understanding collapsed amid two weeks of tit-for-tat strikes, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, who provided no further details.

Still, the security situation in the Gulf deteriorated overnight after the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran following attacks on US forces in Jordan. Additionally, reports emerged that a US-owned LNG vessel was struck at an Egyptian port.

Bloomberg cited Kpler data showing that fourteen commodity vessels transited the Hormuz chokepoint in both directions on Wednesday, up from single digits the previous week.

Kpler wrote on X:

Hormuz shipping bottleneck endures

A four-day pause in US strikes on Iran has done little to restore Middle East Gulf crude exports. Confirmed clearance remained close to recent lows, while Gulf loading activity fell by more than half for the first time in six weeks. The crude backlog has shifted between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman rather than disappeared. Persistent maritime security risks, war risk insurance costs and Iranian interdiction now appear to be the main barriers. Offshore ship to ship transfers are helping manage inventories, but not expanding export capacity. For energy markets, physical shipping data remain a clearer measure of supply conditions than geopolitical headlines.

Hormuz shipping bottleneck endures

A four day pause in US strikes on Iran has done little to restore Middle East Gulf crude exports. Confirmed clearance remained close to recent lows, while Gulf loading activity fell by more than half for the first time in six weeks. The crude… pic.twitter.com/e9aZ5cfGCP

— Kpler (@Kpler) July 30, 2026

Qatar's Al Areesh exited the Persian Gulf carrying the country's first LNG shipment in three weeks, while a supertanker was provisionally booked at nearly $500,000 a day to load Gulf crude for China.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said about 6.5 million barrels of oil a day moved through the strait over the past week with US support.

"We are using the United States military to escort out oil and gas out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Wright told Bloomberg Radio, saying about 6.5 million barrels of oil a day exited the Gulf via the strait over the past week. "We are restoring supplies of global oil and refined products to the world out of that region."

Maritime Chokepoint Developments:

Strait of Hormuz

• A Norwegian-flagged products tanker appears to be preparing to exit
• Two Iran-linked Suezmaxes, Chloe and Kariz, sailed into the strait and are now idling off Iran's Bandar Abbas
• Very large crude carrier Jamaica Prosperity was provisionally fixed by the shipping unit of a Chinese charterer to pick up a Persian Gulf cargo on Aug. 3 at 465 Worldscale points, or nearly $500,000 per day

Southern Red Sea

• Twenty-one commodity vessels crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait in either direction on Wednesday, compared to 38 a day earlier: Kpler
• Only Russian crude left via the chokepoint, totaling about 3.5 million barrels, although some vessels may have transited with transponders off
• South Korean-controlled VLCC V Glory seen approaching Gulf of Aden recently before going dark; Saudi-flagged Samha seen doing so on Thursday
• On Wednesday, some ships were provisionally booked to load from Yanbu in August, with the option of exiting via Bab el- Mandeb to reach South Korea

Northern Red Sea

• Two LNG carriers were struck late Wednesday at Egypt's Damietta port near the mouth of the Suez Canal; no one has claimed responsibility yet
• Japanese-flagged VLCC Takamatsu Maru is the latest to divert to Egypt's Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean coast as a destination from US previously; ship is currently southeast of Africa
• Bidbid and VL Prosperity have arrived at and loading from Sidi Kerir, with previously reported destinations in Asia
• Three VLCCs — Olympic Luck, DHT Gazelle and DHT Mustang — that departed Yanbu are currently idling off Sidi Kerir with no clear destination