Oil tanker traffic through Egypt’s Suez Canal jumped by nearly a third in April, a dramatic rerouting driven by the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz that has upended global energy logistics.
Since late February, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted by roughly 70%. Vessels that would normally transit Hormuz are now steering toward the Suez Canal and Red Sea corridor instead.
Why tankers are fleeing Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz normally handles about a fifth of global oil consumption. When conflict-related risks between Iran and the US/Israel escalated earlier this year, that traffic collapsed. Oil tanker activity in the Red Sea surged 66% in March as vessels began bypassing Hormuz disruptions. By April, that wave had fully hit the Suez Canal, pushing crossings up nearly 30%.
The Suez Canal and the parallel SUMED pipeline were already processing approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil per day in the first half of 2025, before the crisis intensified.
