Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is rising but remains well below prewar levels, according to analysts, contradicting claims by U.S. officials that the crucial waterway is back to normal operations.
Roughly 70 ships passed through the strait in the first weekend since the United States and Iran signed their framework agreement to end the Middle East war, according to data and analytics firm Kpler. That was despite Iran’s military declaring the Hormuz closed again Saturday, citing continued fighting in Lebanon. The ships that made the journey included crude tankers, container ships and vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas, Kpler said.
Traffic through the waterway is still low compared to prewar levels, according to Kpler, a finding also shared by the Joint Maritime Information Center in an advisory note issued Monday. The threat level in Hormuz remains “moderate,” down from “substantial” in an advisory last week issued by the organization, an information-sharing group that draws from the maritime trade organizations of seven nations.
The U.S. on Monday morning lifted sanctions on Iranian crude exports as part of the agreement.
