Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026.
Stringer | Reuters
There was very little ship traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day since President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran.
President Trump’s decision to unilaterally extend the ceasefire does not open the Strait. Iran still seeks to control shipping traffic in the sea lanes, while the United States has blocked Tehran’s ports and ships.
Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, said that “reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible” as long as the U.S. blockade continues.
At least eight ships, including three oil tankers, passed through the strait on Wednesday, according to LSEG tracking data.
The Iranian tanker Atlantis 2 appears to have crossed the strait and entered the Gulf of Oman despite the US naval blockade.
An empty supertanker named Virgo entered the Persian Gulf with an unknown destination. Virgo is a very large crude oil carrier capable of transporting up to 2 million barrels of oil.
LSEG said traffic was little changed from Tuesday, when at least six ships were underway. About a dozen commercial vessels of various types passed through on Monday, data showed.
Traffic is well below normal levels, when before the war more than 100 ships passed through the Channel each day.
ship attack
The security situation in the Strait remains dangerous. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that it had seized two container ships that attempted to cross the strait “without permission,” state news agency Tasnim reported.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) warned ships there was a “high level of activity” in the Channel and to report any suspicious activity.
According to a UKMTO incident report, the cargo ship was set on fire on Wednesday and is now anchored at sea. According to the UKMTO, a gunboat carrying security forces opened fire on the container ship on Tuesday, causing significant damage to the bridge.
This week’s attack on the ship comes after a weekend of chaos and confrontations in and around the Channel. Iranian forces opened fire on tankers and cargo ships in the sea lane on Saturday, a day after declaring it open to commercial traffic. The vessels were apparently Indian-made, and New Delhi lodged a complaint with Tehran.
The US Navy shelled an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday. Marines boarded the ship and took it into custody. President Trump said the ship was trying to evade the U.S. blockade of Iran.
Iran’s attacks on oil tankers before the ceasefire led to a sharp drop in traffic in the strait, causing what is said to be the largest oil supply disruption in history.
Before the war, about 20% of the world’s crude oil supply passed through this strait. Rystad Energy said it would take until July for crude flows to reach up to 90% of pre-war levels, and up to another two months for barrels to reach refineries around the world to be processed into products.
