ships going through, waiting or diverting journey
Merchant ships are seen off the coast of Dubai on March 11, 2026.
– | Afp | Getty Images
Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has raised fears of the most serious disruption to global oil supplies in history as the conflict in the Middle East enters its third week.
The blockade has brought shipping traffic to a trickle, with only 21 tankers transiting the route since the war began on Feb. 28, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence; Before the conflict there were more than 100 ships a day.
While thousands of sailors are stranded on ships in the Gulf, most ships appear to be stationed outside Hormuz. Some explored a pivot point to disperse to alternative ports.
While it was determined that approximately 400 ships were operating in the Gulf of Oman, a large number of ships accumulated and waited near the strait. report Sunday from maritime intelligence firm Windward.
While Iran maintains tight control of the strait, a small number of other ships have also transited under varying conditions, maritime analysts say, signaling that Tehran is selectively allowing some non-Iranian oil cargoes on agreed safe voyages.
Let’s take a look at some of the countries that have moved their ships through the critical energy route since the start of the war.
Chinese
Tehran has largely refrained from targeting Chinese-bound ships. According to Windward, dozens of ships broadcasting AIS (automatic identification system) referenced Chinese ownership or crew presence while operating in the Gulf.
“This pattern suggests the possibility of unofficial access filtering that indicates ships are attempting to demonstrate neutrality to their Chinese owner or crew or to avoid targeting in the current conflict environment,” Windward analysts wrote in a report last week. he said.
Beijing reportedly in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatar’s liquefied natural gas carriers will pass through the strait. Iran has continued to send millions of barrels of crude oil to China since the start of the war.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a total of 11 China-bound ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz from March 1 to March 15, with the majority being general cargo ships, while tankers operated by mainstream Chinese shipowners still avoided the route. Earlier this month, Chinese state-owned Cosco Shipping suspends all new bookings For routes to and from ports in the Middle East.
However, a ship broadcasting that it is bound to China does not always guarantee safe passage.
A Chinese ship, which was broadcasting “China Owned” over AIS during transit, was hit by shrapnel while sailing from the Middle East Gulf towards Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates on March 12. This development has since deterred Chinese crossings. Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Greece
Greek shipowners managed by Athens-based Dynacom Tankers Management among the first mainstream operators to test the route.
The Liberian-flagged Suezmax tanker Shenlong, operated by Dynacom, crossed the strait around March 8, carrying approximately one million barrels of Saudi crude oil to reach its anchorage in Mumbai.
Another oil tanker, Smyrni, loaded with Saudi crude oil passed through the waterway It docked in Mumbai last week.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence said it was not yet clear whether Smyrni was allowed safe passage due to the cargo bound for India.
India
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar He talked about the country’s direct negotiations We are in a period when Tehran is productive. “I am at the moment engaged in talking to them, and my talking has yielded some results,” he told the Financial Times earlier this week. “If it produces results for me, naturally I will continue to look at it.”
MUMBAI, INDIA – MARCH 12: The Liberian-flagged Suezmax tanker Shenlong, carrying crude oil, which was among the first ships to reach India amid the Middle East crises, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, on March 12, 2026, after passing through the Strait of Hormuz from the Saudi Arabian port of Ras Tanura.
Imtiyaz Sheikh | Anatolia | Getty Images
Two Indian ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, of the Shipping Corporation of India were also allowed to transit; One of them is expected to arrive on Sunday and the other on Tuesday.
According to information obtained by CNBC, approximately 22 ships carrying crude oil, LPG and liquefied natural gas remained anchored in the strait for safe passage approval.
Pakistan, Türkiye
Recently on Monday, a Pakistani-flagged Aframax tanker loaded with crude oil from Abu Dhabi broadcast its location, becoming the first non-Iranian cargo ship to pass through the transit point, according to MarineTraffic, Kpler’s ship tracking intelligence unit.
This indicates that “certain shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage.”
Turkish officials also confirmed this A Turkish made ship After stopping at the Iranian port, transit was allowed, but 14 more Turkish ships are waiting for customs clearance in the region.
‘Random’ attacks, changing routes
However, the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to global energy flows as Tehran continued sporadic attacks on ships.
Maritime analysts said attacks on ships in the Gulf appeared “random” and lacked a pattern, aimed at creating confusion and disruption rather than targeting specific national profiles or ship types.
At least 16 ships hit in waters near UAE’s Fujairah portIraq’s Khor Al Zubair port and the Gulf of Oman, according to the International Maritime Organization.
According to Windward, many ships targeted had connections to Western or Gulf states; these included links to the US, UAE and UK through ownership or state registration.
Other ships affected included those from Thailand, Vietnam and Brazil, indicating “broad targeting of busy commercial shipping routes rather than a narrow focus on a single nationality or class of operator,” Windward analysts said.
Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said in a phone interview with CNBC that the attacks did not follow any discernible pattern; This “makes things difficult for people trying to make any kind of transit plan because they can’t figure out what the logic is of one ship hitting another,” he said.
Shipowners are also scrambling to secure alternative routes, emergency ports or inland transport networks, leading to a number of traffic jams in the region’s secondary centres.
According to Kpler, about 81 container ships were heading to ports in the Strait of Hormuz when the war began. Since then, 43 of them have headed to other Gulf ports, while the rest have left the region entirely.
Cargoes were especially directed to ports outside the Bosphorus Fujairah and Khor Fakkan before being transported by truck to their destinations in the UAE and Oman’s Sohar.
— CNBC’s Seema Mody contributed to this report.
