Commercial Shipping Continues Through Middle East Chokepoints Amid Rising Caution
Marine traffic data shows vessels still transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb, but patterns indicate growing operational caution and shifting routing decisions due to security threats.
Marine traffic data reveals that commercial shipping continues to pass through the Middle East's critical maritime chokepoints, though vessel behavior reflects increasing caution. On 21 July, nine verified vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, compared with 29 crossings through Bab el Mandeb.
Over the 20–21 July period, Hormuz recorded 22 crossings, 16 of which used the Iranian unilateral scheme, while Bab el Mandeb handled 73 crossings. Four verified U-turns near the Gulf of Aden were observed following heightened security threats.
Combined with 61 confirmed maritime incidents reported by the IMO, the data suggests geopolitical risk is increasingly influencing routing decisions, even as commercial traffic continues.
Source: @FirstSquaw
Source: First Squawk