Question 1

Is the Strait of Hormuz open today?

Accepted Answer

As of the latest AIS data, the Strait of Hormuz is SEVERELY RESTRICTED — only a trickle of traffic is getting through. Oil exports are running at about 8% of normal (5 loaded tankers observed transiting eastbound in the last 24h vs ~30/day before the crisis). This is roughly day 100 of the closure that began on 28 Feb 2026.

Question 2

Can Iran close the Strait of Hormuz?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The strait's two shipping lanes pass through Iranian and Omani territorial waters at their narrowest (~21 nautical miles wide, with two ~2-mile-wide lanes). Iran's IRGC Navy can interdict, mine, or harass traffic — which is what occurred in the 2026 crisis, when Iran formally declared the strait closed on 4 March 2026 following the late-February US/Israel air war. A sustained closure is militarily difficult to hold against US/coalition naval forces, but even the threat sharply reduces commercial transits and spikes oil prices.

Question 3

How much oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz?

Accepted Answer

About 20 million barrels per day of crude oil, condensate, and refined products — roughly 20% of global petroleum consumption and the single most important oil chokepoint in the world. Around 20% of the world's LNG (mostly from Qatar) also transits Hormuz. About 84% of the crude that exits the strait goes to Asia (China, India, Japan, South Korea). Source: US EIA.

Question 4

How many ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours?

Accepted Answer

2,408 unique vessels were detected by AIS in the Strait of Hormuz region in the last 24 hours, with 5 loaded oil tankers observed transiting eastbound (vs ~30/day before the crisis). The live count by direction and flag is shown on this dashboard and at /recent-crossings.

Question 5

What happens to oil prices if the Strait of Hormuz closes?

Accepted Answer

Prices spike sharply. When the strait was closed in early March 2026, Brent crude topped $100/barrel for the first time in four years and peaked near $118-120. Removing ~20 mbpd of supply (~20% of the world's oil) cannot be fully offset: bypass pipelines (Saudi East-West ~5 mbpd, UAE ADCOP ~1.5 mbpd, Iraq-Turkey) provide only ~3.5-5.5 mbpd of spare capacity. Live Brent, WTI, and Dubai prices are tracked at /oil.

Question 6

Are there alternative oil routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but with limited spare capacity: the Saudi East-West (Petroline, ~5 Mbpd to Yanbu), UAE Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP, ~1.5 Mbpd to Fujairah), Iran Goreh-Jask, and the Iraq-Turkey Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Combined spare bypass capacity is only ~3.5-5.5 Mbpd against the ~20 Mbpd that normally transits the strait — see /pipelines for live utilization.

Question 7

When will the Strait of Hormuz reopen?

Accepted Answer

As of early June 2026 the strait remains effectively closed; a 60-day reopening framework is reportedly 'largely negotiated' but disputed by Iran and not finalized. Energy analysts (IEA, prediction markets) broadly expect flows to begin normalizing around August-September 2026, contingent on a durable ceasefire. This dashboard's verdict is computed live from observed AIS transits, so it will flip to OPEN automatically when traffic returns — see /crisis-timeline for the latest developments.

Question 8

Which countries are most affected by a Strait of Hormuz closure?

Accepted Answer

On the export side: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iran. On the import side, Asia is most exposed — China, India, Japan, and South Korea together take roughly 69% of Hormuz crude. Flag-state and country-exposure breakdowns are tracked at /countries.

Strait of Hormuz Monitor

Is the Strait of Hormuz Open Today? — Live Monitor