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Wednesday, 2 September 2026dailybeirut.com
Economy
Four vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday—down from 10 the day before and a 10-day average of 13—while U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed 17 million barrels of crude crossed Monday, the highest oil flow since the war with Iran began.
Initial shipping data released Wednesday showed four vessels carrying essential commodities transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. That figure fell short of the 10 vessels recorded the previous day and was well below the 10-day average of approximately 13 ships per day. The U.S. government stated the volume of oil flowing through the waterway reached its highest level since the war with Iran began.
According to preliminary tracking data from the maritime platform Kepler, four oil tankers passed through the strait. These included one very large crude carrier (VLCC), one Panamax-class vessel, one Capesize vessel, and one medium-sized tanker. One of the four entered the strait while the other three were in the process of exiting. Analysts noted that the figures may be revised later, as some vessels reportedly switched off their automatic identification systems (AIS) during transit.
Crude oil prices rose 0.8% in early Wednesday trading, extending gains from the prior session. The increase followed renewed Middle East hostilities after the United States and Iran exchanged strikes overnight—dashing hopes for a swift de-escalation. The developments came after Washington announced it had carried out airstrikes on Iranian targets, prompting Tehran’s most severe retaliatory response in weeks.
On the same day, 18 vessels carrying essential commodities transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—another key regional chokepoint. Of those, seven entered the strait and 11 exited. This total fell short of the 10-day average of about 24 vessels for Bab el-Mandeb.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Tuesday that approximately 17 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. He characterized this as the highest level of oil throughput via the waterway since shipping activity declined due to the war with Iran.
