Kepler reports a sharp drop in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz while Bab el-Mandeb traffic holds steady

According to the latest data from the ship tracking firm Kepler, reflected in Iranian business media on Saturday 1 August 2026, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply once again. The data show the number of vessels transiting the strait on Thursday 30 July 2026 dropped 77 percent from the previous day, from 22 ships to 5.

Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, by contrast, has remained almost unchanged. The number of vessels passing through Bab el-Mandeb on Tuesday 28 July, Wednesday 29 July and Thursday 30 July 2026 was reported at 41, 39 and 47 respectively.

Kepler said that while the public positions of the United States and Iran remain at odds with each other, shipping operators are closely watching transit volumes, routing patterns and any diplomatic developments that could change the risk level on the region's shipping routes in the days ahead. The Strait of Hormuz is the main outlet for Persian Gulf crude oil exports, and swings in traffic through it are among the channels that feed into the risk premium in the global oil market.