CNN: Strait of Hormuz sees highest shipping traffic since April

A total of 25 commercial vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, marking the highest single-day traffic since April, marine intelligence firm AXSMarine confirmed.

The increase in maritime movement comes after the United States and Iran signed an agreement on Wednesday that reportedly pledged to “immediately” reopen the strategic waterway, CNN reports.

“Yesterday, we observed 25 verified commercial vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz,” AXSMarine said in a post on social media on Friday. “That is the highest single-day count since 18 April, which came during a brief reopening window following Iran’s announcement that the strait was open to commercial traffic at the time. That window proved short-lived, making the 18 June count the strongest daily figure since that temporary surge.”

The 25 verified transits recorded on June 18 are nearly five times the average daily traffic during the first 10 days of June. However, they remain significantly below pre-conflict levels, when approximately 110 vessels passed through the strait each day on average. Prior to the disruption, around 20% of global oil supplies transited the waterway, and its effective closure had contributed to rising oil prices.

AXSMarine noted that the actual figure could be higher, as its data relies on AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders, which are increasingly being disabled by ships attempting to transit the strait undetected.

“The rebound [in shipping traffic] came amid the largest AIS signal disruption event we have observed in the Persian Gulf since the conflict began, with over 200 commercial vessels affected simultaneously by spoofing or abnormal AIS behavior,” the firm added.

By Vafa Guliyeva