Strait of Hormuz Sees Sharp Drop in Tanker Traffic as Saudi Arabia Diverts Oil Export Routes

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Commodity ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic global energy shipping route, has experienced a sharp decline.

This development comes as Saudi Arabia seeks alternative routes to export crude oil following the shutdown of a major pipeline linking oil production areas to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

According to OilPrice.com on Friday (18/9/2026), only four commodity vessels were detected entering or exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday (17/9/2026).

AFP Billboard on a building at Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran, showing U.S. President Donald Trump's face with the Strait of Hormuz, photographed on May 2, 2026.

Shipping data indicates a drop from the 10-day average of about 16 vessels per day traversing this crucial route.

Of the four detected vessels, three were entering the Persian Gulf, while one was exiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The data cited is preliminary and sourced from Kpler.

The decrease in ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz coincides with heightened caution among shipowners and energy exporters navigating the route.

This caution relates to rising tensions in September 2026, including tanker attacks, threats from the Iranian-aligned Houthi group in the Red Sea, and the closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline.

However, vessel tracking data does not cover all ship movements.

Ships that disable their automatic identification systems to avoid detection or attack are not reflected in these figures.

SHUTTERSTOCK/SVEN HANSCHE Illustration of an oil tanker.

Therefore, the reported figure of four detected vessels represents recorded movements from preliminary data, not the total number of ships possibly crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

Tanker traffic in the Strait has rebounded to roughly half to two-thirds of pre-war levels, according to analyst estimates and satellite tracking services.

Nevertheless, the traffic volume remains below pre-war conditions.

Threats to shipping have also increased in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key southern Red Sea route.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militant group is reported to be seizing control of critical islands near that corridor.