Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reached its “lowest” level since May, Reuters reported on Sunday, just days after President Donald Trump insisted that the critical shipping waterway was “open” and under the full “control” of the United States.
According to shipping data reviewed by Reuters, an average of 10 commodity ships per day transited the strait over the past 10 days, a sharp drop from just a week prior. Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, and only two on Saturday, “mostly using the Iranian route,” according to Reuters.
And yet, on Aug. 27, Trump declared that “the Strait of Hormuz is open,” and that “we have control.” A day before that, Trump again declared that “the Strait is open,” and that the United States was guiding “a lot of ships through the strait now,” adding that it was “a very functioning strait” with “a lot of oil pouring out.”
Trump has insisted that the Strait of Hormuz has been open since at least Aug. 10, when he claimed that the United States controlled the strait “100%.”
The cratering of traffic through the strait comes as average diesel prices reach their all-time high in the United States, eclipsing $5.85 per gallon for the first time in history last Friday, breaking the previous record set in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has also reached record highs, eclipsing $4 every day in August for the first time in history, according to the American Automobile Association.
“On Sunday, one very large crude carrier and three bulk carriers laden with metals, grains or oilseeds entered the strait, Kpler data showed,” Reuters’ report reads.
“A tanker carrying refined products loaded from a Saudi port attempted to exit but was turned back, data from LSEG showed. There has been no VLCC exiting the strait since Wednesday, according to Kpler data.”