Vessel tracking data indicates that restricted maritime transit continues through the Strait of Hormuz, as US officials state that the American military has secured a shipping corridor along the southern edge of the waterway, handling roughly 10 million barrels of crude per day.
Reuters, citing data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler, reported that only nine commercial vessels with active Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders traversed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, August 19, matching Tuesday’s total.
This figure only accounts for ships navigating with active transponders. Vessels passing through the strait with AIS transponders deactivated are not captured in Kpler’s data, meaning the actual number of transits may be higher.
CNN previously reported, citing Kpler data, that over 80 per cent of tracked vessels over the past two weeks navigated through routes near the Omani coastline, a passage that was virtually unused until a month ago.
Axios cited two U.S. officials confirming that the US military established a dedicated shipping route along the southern edge of the strait near Oman over recent weeks.
