Strait of Hormuz closed to most shipping during the Iran war

Started

2026-03-01 (1 March 2026)

Ended

Not ended

Status

ongoing

Type

Security incident

Severity

5 Critical

Scope

chokepoint

Chokepoints

Strait of Hormuz

Ports

Jebel Ali, Khalifa Port, Fujairah

Lanes

Asia to Arabian Gulf, Arabian Gulf to China crude, Arabian Gulf to Japan crude, Arabian Gulf to India crude, Arabian Gulf to Northwest Europe crude, Qatar to Japan LNG

Countries

Iran, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

Confidence

medium: Dates and figures rest on the International Maritime Organization and on consistent press reporting, but each press source was read as a single report, the blockade start is known to the month only, and attribution of individual ship attacks is not settled in the sources used.

First reported

2026-02-28 (28 February 2026)

Casualties (official)

19 deaths, not reported injuries, as of 2026-08-28 [s5]

• Severity basis: IMF PortWatch daily transits fell to single digits from 2026-03-02 and stayed there for more than six months, a reduction well above 50% at a chokepoint for over 30 days.

1. 2026-02-28United States and Israeli strikes on Iran begin the war. The International Maritime Organization dates the start of the crisis in the strait to this day. [s4] [s5]
2. 2026-03-01IMF PortWatch daily transits through the strait fall to 20, from 57 the day before, and to 4 on 2026-03-02, where they stay in single digits for months. [s7]
3. 2026-03-02Ebrahim Jabari, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guard commander-in-chief, announces the strait closed and says ships that try to pass will be set ablaze. [s1]
4. April 2026A United States naval blockade of Iranian ports begins. Traffic stays near five vessels a day through the April ceasefire and the blockade. [s4] [s6]
5. 2026-04-24The International Maritime Organization Secretary-General says there is no safe transit anywhere in the strait, with 29 verified attacks on ships and at least 10 seafarers killed. [s2]
6. 2026-06-17The United States and Iran sign a memorandum and the waterway reopens. From 2026-06-18 to 2026-07-05, 513 ships transit, about 28 a day. [s3] [s4]
7. 2026-07-08After attacks on three vessels on 2026-07-06 and 2026-07-07, the United States president declares the truce over and strikes escalate. [s3]
8. 2026-07-14The United States resumes its blockade of Iranian ports. From 2026-07-15, traffic falls back to about five vessels a day. [s4]
9. 2026-08-28The International Maritime Organization reports at least 70 verified attacks on shipping, 19 seafarers killed and about 6,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf. [s5]
10. 2026-09-06The blockade continues as the United States and Iran trade strikes on tankers and warships, and Iran warns ships to use only routes it designates. [s6]

No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026).

1. [s1] Al Jazeera, Iran says will attack any ship trying to pass through Strait of Hormuz, published 2026-03-02 (2 March 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (press)
2. [s2] International Maritime Organization, No safe transit through Strait of Hormuz, IMO Secretary-General, published 2026-04-24 (24 April 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (official)
3. [s3] Al Jazeera, Strait of Hormuz, what has happened since the US-Iran MoU on June 17, published 2026-07-09 (9 July 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (press)
4. [s4] Al Jazeera, How a 95 percent drop in Hormuz traffic changed global shipping, published 2026-08-27 (27 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (press)
5. [s5] International Maritime Organization, Six months of uncertainty for seafarers in Strait of Hormuz, published 2026-08-28 (28 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (official)
6. [s6] Al Jazeera, US, Iran engaged in tanker war, where is the months-long conflict headed, published 2026-09-06 (6 September 2026), accessed 2026-09-19. Archived copy. (press)
7. [s7] IMF PortWatch, Daily chokepoint transit calls, Strait of Hormuz, accessed 2026-09-19. (data)