Strait of Hormuz: Ships avoid crossing from the Omani side amid escalating tensions

Only one ship crossed the Strait of Hormuz from the Omani coast on Thursday. The Strait of Hormuz is still littered with sea mines, which are being phased out.

Therefore, ships wishing to cross or exit the strait have only two options: either sail along the northern coast of the Sultanate of Oman, or use the navigation corridor designated by Iran.

Iran seeks to push ships to use its shipping lane, as it targets ships crossing from the Omani side with drones to deliver this message, which sparked a wave of mutual attacks between Washington and Tehran this week.

Shipping companies appear to be complying with this order, at least for now. Of the 22 confirmed crossings through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, only one ship took the passage on the Omani side, according to data from Kpler, which relies on transponder data and satellite images to track ships.

It is noteworthy that some ships deliberately turn off their tracking devices and attempt to cross without detection, which makes it difficult to determine the real number of ships entering and leaving the strait.

However, recording only 22 crossings is a significant decrease compared to about 40 to 50 crossings over the past few weeks, and much less than the more than 100 daily crossings that were recorded before the outbreak of war.

Kpler said in a report: “In light of the continuing dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz between Washington and Tehran, ship operators are likely to remain cautious, carefully selecting transit routes, and showing greater willingness to postpone non-essential voyages until there are clearer indications of de-escalation.”

This comes at a time when tensions are escalating again in the region, after US President Donald Trump announced the “end” of the agreement with Iran. On Tuesday, the United States launched new strikes against Iran and reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales, in response to attacks that targeted commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard then targeted sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.