U.S. Central Command has helped tankers move more than 660 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May, even as Iran says it has closed the waterway. Volumes remain far below pre-war levels, and independent trackers still estimate lower daily totals than the U.S. military does.
Flows through Hormuz keep climbing
The U.S. military has aided the passage of more than 660 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May, Central Command told CNBC this week. U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, said in a Thursday statement that the military has also assisted about 1,300 commercial vessels sailing through the strait over the same period.
According to CNBC: Hawkins said "Multiple routes remain free and open for commercial transit." The new total suggests at least 160 million barrels, or more than 7 million barrels per day, transited the strait over the past three weeks, based on the military's earlier count of 500 million barrels as of July 29. Even so, shipments remain far below the roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and products that passed through Hormuz before the war.
Estimates diverge on daily volume
U.S. officials told Axios that about 10 million barrels per day have exited the strait in recent weeks. Energy Secretary Chris Wright separately said the seven-day average had risen to nearly 9 million barrels per day as of Aug. 11. Private monitors give lower numbers. Maritime intelligence firm Windward estimates crude oil exports through Hormuz averaged about 5 million barrels per day in July, up from about 4 million in June and 1.6 million in May.
Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director at Lloyd's List, said the lack of solid tracking data reflects the complexity of monitoring ships during wartime, since vessels often transit at night while satellite imagery is usually taken in the morning.
Control of the strait stays contested
Iran said Tuesday it has closed Hormuz until the U.S. meets its obligations under the interim peace deal signed June 17, while President Trump has insisted the strait is open and under U.S. control. The waterway has been divided between two shipping lanes for months: the U.S. military assists vessels using a southern route along Oman's coast and has imposed a naval blockade against Iranian ports, while Tehran demands ships use a northern route through its territorial waters or risk attack.
At least 17 commercial ships came under attack in and around the strait in July and August, according to the International Maritime Organization, with at least four sailors killed and more than a dozen injured. Tankers that complete the journey earn $500,000 a day, Windward's Michelle Wiese Bockmann said, and seafarers receive double or triple their normal pay to make the transits.
Source: CNBC
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