Fact Check: Has the number of trading ships officially crossing the Strait of Hormuz fallen by around 90% since the start of the Iran War?
Yes
The IMF’s PortWatch reports a daily average of 12 ships arriving at Hormuz ports in the week beginning on April 12th. This was 88% lower than the daily average of 103 arrivals in the week before the Iran War, but higher than the daily average of three arrivals before the April 8, 2026, ceasefire. These figures reflect trading ships, not all vessels (such as support craft or local fishing boats), in which case the pre-war average was 140 ships a day.
The decline reported by PortWatch is likely overstated since several ships have turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) either because they were Iranian vessels or in an effort to avoid detection. Since the US-imposed blockade on April 13th, the US Navy has stopped multiple, though not all, tankers carrying Iranian oil.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources:
IMF PortWatch Strait of Hormuz
BBC How many ships are crossing the Strait of Hormuz?
Windward Three Weeks Into the Ceasefire: A Maritime Intelligence Breakdown
New York Times U.S. Seizes Second Tanker Carrying Iranian Oil
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