Hormuz Crossings Jump 50%, Bab el-Mandeb Traffic Up 5% on 28 July

A total of 53 confirmed vessel crossings were logged across the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 28 July, according to monitoring data. Transits through Hormuz numbered 12 — a 50% increase from the previous day — while 41 vessels passed through Bab el-Mandeb, up 5%.

Traffic in Hormuz was heavily skewed: 10 of the 12 vessels used the Iranian unilateral scheme and none used the internationally recognized traffic separation scheme. In Bab el-Mandeb, the data flagged 4 dark transits, 4 sanctioned vessel crossings and 8 movements by shadow fleet ships. The figures underscore that while commercial flows continue, routing behaviour and vessel transparency remain key indicators of compliance and geopolitical risk in these critical chokepoints.