A quarter of trapped oil tankers manage to slip through Hormuz

Saturday 30 May 2026 - 11:38

By: Dakir Madiha

A quarter of trapped oil tankers manage to slip through Hormuz

A quiet trickle of oil tankers has begun escaping the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, with roughly one quarter of the large non-Iranian vessels stranded since the outbreak of war now having navigated past the strategic chokepoint. The gradual movement comes as Chevron's chief executive warns that ships continue to face attack during the crossing.

Twenty-nine of the 109 large tankers trapped in the Gulf since the strait effectively closed following the conflict's outbreak on February 28 have successfully made it through, according to maritime tracking data. Most achieved the passage by going dark switching off their AIS automatic identification system transponders to evade the threat of rockets fired from shore with several making the crossing under cover of night. The maneuver reflects the dangerous calculus facing commercial operators who must choose between prolonged entrapment in the Gulf and an unescorted run through a militarized waterway.

The cumulative movements represent approximately 520,000 barrels per day, a small fraction of the crude oil and petroleum products still bottled up inside the Gulf. Daily traffic through the strait remains far below the 125 to 140 transits that were routine before the conflict began, with recent averages barely reaching single digits. Maritime data from the past 48 hours showed two very large crude carriers and one liquefied natural gas tanker transiting with transponders off, bound for China and India respectively.

The precise role of United States military forces in facilitating these crossings remains contested. Reports surfaced this week that the Navy had revived an initiative to guide vessels through the strait under a program called Project Freedom, which was first launched on May 4 before being suspended the following day. American Central Command publicly denied that the operation had resumed, but a more informal arrangement appears to be in effect, with US forces providing navigational guidance to commercial operators without formally escorting them. Iran, meanwhile, has moved to assert its own authority over the waterway by announcing a new Persian Gulf Strait Authority that requires vessels to obtain prior clearance before transiting, warning that any passage conducted without authorization would be treated as illegal.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, speaking on Friday, disclosed that several vessels had come under attack during transit in recent days, including incidents that had not yet been publicly reported. He confirmed that Chevron has six chartered ships currently inside the Gulf but stated that the company would not pay the passage fees Iran has demanded in exchange for safe transit guarantees. The decision on whether to attempt the strait, Wirth emphasized, ultimately rests with individual shipowners rather than cargo holders.

Industry analysts offer a cautiously measured read of the situation. Lars Jensen, president of maritime consultancy Vespucci Maritime, noted that while the number of transits is edging upward, Iran retains de facto control over the shipping lane. A preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at extending their 60-day ceasefire and opening discussions on Tehran's nuclear program has generated some diplomatic optimism, but Wirth warned that even if a deal were finalized, restoring normal operations through the strait would take several months.