Threat of Attack on Ships, Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz Only a Few Percent

ILLUSTRATION PHOTO/US patrol boat in the Strait of Hormuz/DOK Official U.S. Navy Page from United States of America

JAKARTA - The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) revealed that shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz over the past seven days only reached 17 percent of the average volume before the conflict.

The control over this vital waterway has recently become the focus of the war.

US President Donald Trump previously stated his plan to designate the region as US territory after America 'defeated' Iran.

The statement was immediately met with a harsh response from Tehran, where the deputy foreign minister asserted that the Strait of Hormuz could not be seized with just a tweet or an aircraft carrier.

Based on the latest report from UKMTO on Friday, August 14, only 151 ships passed in or out of the narrow waterway in the last seven days.

The report noted 56 reports of ship damage in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters since the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

However, the number does not seem to include the two latest attacks reported on Thursday. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) previously stated that two of its ships were attacked while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

The southern Oman route - a temporary alternative corridor in the strait - remains the route with the highest risk, covering 16 of the 18 incidents of projectile attacks reported by UKMTO since July 6.

The US naval blockade is still in effect, prohibiting ships from entering and leaving any Iranian port, both inside and outside the strait. However, it is recorded that one Iranian-flagged ship entered and another exited through the Strait of Hormuz in the last seven days.

The ships that most frequently cross the disputed waterway are those flying the flags of Panama and Liberia. Each recorded 12 ships entering or leaving. No US-flagged ships were reported to have passed through.

The type of ship that most often crosses the strait is a product tanker, which usually transports refined petroleum products.

These latest figures represent a slight improvement on the previous week - when vessel traffic was only at 4% of pre-war levels - according to UKMTO data.