Above photo: Reuters/Stringer.
Over failure to protect vessels.
The Omani shipping route saw no crossings on 14 July as vessels overwhelmingly favored the Iranian-approved route.
International shipping companies are avoiding crossing the Strait of Hormuz through the US-controlled alternative corridor that runs along the Omani coastline due to fears of Iranian strikes, sources told Reuters on 16 July.
After a series of Iranian strikes on ships attempting to bypass the Iranian-designated shipping channels as mandated in the Iran–US memorandum of understanding (MoU), shipping companies are reassessing the safety and viability of US military escort through the strait.
“The US doesn’t seem to have any control over the situation,” one shipping source said, noting that their firm chose to avoid the strait altogether out of concern for crew safety as security conditions worsen.
“Iran’s continued ability to target ships sailing through the Omani route means the Trump administration’s proposed solution to keep ships moving is unlikely to work,” said Torbjorn Solvedt, principal West Asia analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
Following the resumption of US attacks on Iran and the reimposition of the US blockade on Iranian ports and shipping routes, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to a near-complete halt.
Kpler data shows only seven vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on the first day of the renewed US naval blockade, down from 13 the previous day.
The drop in ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to just seven vessels illustrates that the waterway can be paralyzed by fear without a complete physical closure. In the Strait of #Hormuz, the risks of missile attacks, blockades, and the disabling of tracking devices are…
— Prof. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi (@suwaidi_jamal) July 16, 2026
Just prior to the reimposition of the US blockade, Kpler reported 21 monitored transits through the Strait of Hormuz on 14 July, with vessels favoring the Iranian-approved route as the Omani corridor saw no crossings at all.
Hormuz risks deepen further
Confirmed Strait of Hormuz crossings rose slightly on 14 July, with 21 monitored transits recorded, dominated by commercial traffic carrying crude, LPG, methanol and iron ore. However, the security outlook deteriorated further as three additional… pic.twitter.com/ePEfykLST0
— Kpler (@Kpler) July 15, 2026
The firm also verified three additional attacks off Oman, bringing the confirmed toll to 56 incidents and 17 seafarer deaths.
More than 200 non-Iranian vessels applied for Iranian transit permits and insurance coverage in the three weeks between the signing of the Iran-US MoU and the resumption of the war, according to figures released by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) on Tuesday.
The authority approved 79 percent of requests, with tankers making up the largest share at 41 percent, and China and India each accounting for roughly a fifth of outbound destinations – figures that cover Iran-approved crossings only, excluding the US-escorted Omani route.
