Bloomberg: Tanker Traffic Through The Strait Of Hormuz Has Come To A Halt
- 20.07.2026, 11:46
The Iranian military has launched new strikes against ships off the coast of Oman.
Early Monday morning, July 20, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz came to a virtual standstill following an escalation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend. This was reported by Bloomberg.
The oil tanker Kavomaleas came to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman after Iranian naval forces struck vessels in the waterway. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement indicating that four vessels had attempted to pass through the strait “via a dangerous route,” ignoring warnings, and that two of them “were involved in an accident and were stopped.”
The British Maritime Trade Operations reported that a vessel was on fire northwest of Kumzar (Oman), adding that the cause of the fire had not been confirmed. The location was reported to be near the last known position of the tanker Kavomaleas.
The attacks on ships are likely to raise new concerns about the safety of vessels transiting this waterway along the coast of Oman—often with their transponders turned off, and sometimes with the support of U.S. military forces.
One of the few vessels that apparently attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday was a bulk carrier flying the Marshall Islands flag. It left the Persian Gulf with its transponders turned off, sailing through the strait near Oman. A liquefied hydrocarbon gas (LHG) tanker belonging to Iran’s “shadow fleet” was also approaching the strait.
Another bulk carrier registered in the Marshall Islands began transmitting signals from the Gulf of Oman after reporting earlier that morning on July 19 that it was in the Persian Gulf, indicating that it had crossed the Strait of Hormuz with its transponders turned off.
Oil traders and shipping executives are monitoring whether vessels are passing through the Strait of Hormuz via the corridor approved by Iran, which runs further north —which exposes charterers and shipowners to compliance risks—or via the Omani route to the south.