The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has revealed shocking figures regarding shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, with transit volumes plummeting to just 17% of pre-conflict levels in recent days.
According to the UKMTO report, only 151 vessels transited the narrow waterway, either entering or exiting, in the past seven days.
The agency also recorded 56 reports of damage to vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters since the outbreak of the US-Iranian conflict on February 28. However, this tally does not include the two attacks reported last Thursday, when the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced that two of its ships had been attacked while transiting the strait.
US President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he intends to declare the Strait "American territory" after "defeating Iran."
This statement was met with a swift response from Tehran, with Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi asserting that the Strait of Hormuz "cannot be seized with a tweet or by an aircraft carrier."
The southern Omani route, a temporary alternative passage within the strait, remains the most dangerous area, having witnessed 16 of the 18 projectile attacks reported by the agency since June 6.
Shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined, and Washington and Tehran are clashing over sovereignty of the strait.
