Maritime Information Center keeps Strait of Hormuz threat at its highest 'severe' level, warns of mines and vessel stops

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) kept the Strait of Hormuz security threat at "severe," its highest category, in its latest advisory on Sunday, 12 July 2026, after earlier lifting it from the "substantial" level. It cited the likelihood of "deliberate hostile action" under current conditions.

The advisory pointed to the IRGC Navy hailing and stopping merchant vessels, interference with navigation, and mine hazards near the strait's traffic separation scheme, and told mariners to expect radio contact from naval forces. The warning came even as CENTCOM and the same center had earlier stressed that the strait's southern route remained open to traffic despite Iran's declared "closure."

The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas, so an elevated security risk keeps ships' war-risk premiums and the oil price risk premium high, a channel that feeds through global crude prices and inflation expectations into Iran's currency and gold markets.