Maritime traffic through Strait of Hormuz drops over weekend

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz declined sharply over the weekend as confirmed vessel crossings fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and six on Sunday.

A total of 32 vessels transited the strategic waterway between Aug. 7 and 9, with routing remaining concentrated, including 17 movements through the Iranian Unilateral Scheme and 10 classified as route undetermined, maritime tracker MarineTraffic announced on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait recorded significantly higher activity, registering 116 confirmed crossings during the same three-day period.

Daily vessel movements through Bab el-Mandeb held relatively steady, recording 43 transits on Friday, 37 on Saturday and 36 on Sunday.

Persistent AIS visibility concerns continued along the route as operators logged 12 dark transits over the weekend.

Saturday recorded elevated risk activity in the waterway, including 10 sanctioned crossings and eight dark transits.