Strait of Hormuz ship traffic stays below average amid Iran-Oman talks

Commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued on Tuesday, preliminary shipping data showed, even as Iran and Oman explored ways to manage the strategic waterway.

Five commodity vessels transited the strait on August 25, 2026, little changed from the previous day but well below the 10-day average of 15, according to initial data from shiptracker Kpler at 0408 GMT on Wednesday.

The vessels included two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one tanker carrying bitumen that exited the Gulf via the strait. Two empty product tankers entered the waterway from the Gulf of Oman. On Monday, four commodity vessels transited the strait.

The figures are preliminary and could change, as some ships typically switch off their location transponders during the voyage.

At the Bab el-Mandeb, another major maritime chokepoint in West Asia, transits were roughly unchanged at 31 commodity vessels on Tuesday, compared with 29 the day before, Kpler data showed. That figure was in line with the 10-day average.

Iran said it had resumed discussions with Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz amid increased economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. The two sides said on Tuesday they had explored creating a temporary joint shipping corridor and agreed to remove mines from the waterway.

However, analysts cautioned that such an agreement might not quickly restore normal oil flows through the strait. “Any agreement between these two parties does not mean we will see normalisation in oil flows through the key chokepoint,” ING Economics said in a note.

The note added: “We would likely need to see the U.S. lift its blockade on Iranian ports and ease sanctions on Iran before we see any move towards normalisation.”