Tanker Traffic Through the Strait of Hormuz Hits Bottom as Oil Flow Falls to 6.7 Million Barrels a Day

According to Oilprice.com, citing Reuters, Kpler and the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), published Sunday, Shahrivar 1, 1405 (August 23, 2026), tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained very weak over the weekend: Kpler data showed only 13 tankers crossed on Saturday, 31 Mordad (August 22), and just 4 on Sunday, versus 16 on Friday, 30 Mordad. UKMTO said AIS detected transits are running about 90 percent below pre war levels. In the week to August 21 (30 Mordad), 103 vessels entered and 89 exited the strait, of which 45 percent were tankers.

According to Mehr News Agency, citing Kpler, published Monday, Shahrivar 2, 1405 (August 24, 2026), implied oil flow through Hormuz has also fallen sharply to 6.7 million barrels a day. The decline comes as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to launch the "greatest economic attack" on Iran, and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, responded that oil exports from the Persian Gulf would stop entirely if the economic war continues.