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30-04-2026
LONDON: Six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the US blockade in recent days, ship-tracking data shows, underscoring the impact the Iran war is having on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil export route.
Between 125 and 140 ships usually crossed in and out of the strait daily before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, but only seven have done so in the past day, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax, and none carrying oil bound for the global market.
They included the Iranian-flagged dry bulk vessel Bavand which left from an Iranian port, and other vessels leaving from Iraqi ports, the data showed.
Iran has imposed restrictions on shipping using the strait, and the US on April 13 announced it would blockade Iran-related shipping. US forces have turned back 37 vessels since then, the military said on April 25, opens new tab.
The strait typically handles 20% of the world’s daily supply of oil and LNG. Activity has remained curtailed through it as talks between Iran and the United States remain stalled nearly two months into the war.
The US military has not provided a complete breakdown of the type of ships it has diverted or the precise location, opens new tab of the interceptions.
“Iran has attacked and detained ships for not adhering to its required transit requirements, while the US has continued to enforce its blockade,” ship broker Clarksons said in a note on Monday.
The six tankers forced to return to Iranian ports in recent days were carrying an estimated 10.5 million barrels of oil, according to satellite analysis from TankerTrackers.com, opens new tab.
While US forces in the Gulf of Oman instructed some vessels to turn back, others appeared to be allowed to sail on.
Two tankers carrying around four million barrels of Iranian oil managed to sail past the blockade on April 24 bound for Asia, the data from TankerTrackers.com showed.
Four separate, empty Iranian tankers were last seen around Pakistan’s coast, opens new tab after returning from Asia, according to analysis from TankerTrackers.com.
Analysts said US forces have been diverting Iran-linked ships as far east as the Malacca Strait, so it is unclear whether those cargoes will reach buyers or be intercepted and redirected back to Iran.
Hundreds of ships and an estimated 20,000 seafarers remained stranded inside the Gulf. Those seafarers are “exposed to significant risks and considerable psychological strain,” Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organization, told a committee session on Monday.
“The longer this situation goes on, the greater the risk of serious accidents, including environmental accidents.”
Meanwhile, Work has not halted to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran, sources from mediator Pakistan said, despite the absence of face-to-face diplomacy after President Donald Trump called off a trip by his envoys over the weekend.
Iranian sources disclosed Tehran’s latest proposal on Monday, which would set aside discussion of Iran’s nuclear program until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved. That is unlikely to satisfy Washington, which says nuclear issues must be dealt with from the outset.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since the US president scrapped a visit on Saturday by his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi shuttled in and out twice over the weekend. (Int’l News Desk)
