Hormuz shipping rebounds despite hostilities as dark transits continue
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is picking up despite ongoing regional tensions, according to maritime data, though dark vessel movements remain common. U.S. officials said military escorts are helping keep oil and gas shipments flowing.
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 02:56 PM 30 July 2026
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has increased despite continuing Middle East hostilities, although dark transits and identity manipulation remain widespread, according to data from the maritime intelligence firm Windward.
Twenty vessels crossed the strait on July 29, evenly split between 10 inbound and 10 outbound transits, according to Windward.
Fifteen vessels were visible through the Automatic Identification System (AIS), while five were classified as dark or operating without normal transmissions.
Among the outbound vessels was the Al Areesh, which carried Qatar's first liquefied natural gas shipment through the strait in around three weeks.
The ADNOC-chartered LNG carrier Mraweh entered the Gulf while operating dark after briefly reappearing on AIS following an 18-day gap.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said American military escorts were helping energy shipments continue through the waterway.
"We are using the United States military to escort out oil and gas out of the Strait of Hormuz," Wright told Bloomberg Radio.
He said around 6.5 million barrels of oil per day had exited the Gulf through Hormuz over the past week.
Traffic had declined sharply after the US intensified strikes on Iran in mid-July and Tehran launched retaliatory attacks in the region.