Experts warn that the threat to oil tankers in the Middle East is at its worst since the start of the Iran war, following a series of attacks on ships using alternative routes in the region.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militia announced a blockade on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports on Monday, July 20th, 2026. Since then, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency has reported multiple attacks on vessels in the past week. The Red Sea, an alternative waterway some tankers have used since Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, is now facing a broadening and increasingly complex security situation.

Matthew Wright, an analyst at ship-tracking firm Kpler, stated, "In terms of threat to the trade of crude, we're at the worst period that we've been in since this crisis began." According to Kpler data, the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped dramatically to just eight on Sunday, August 2nd, and eleven on Saturday, August 1st, compared with over 100 per day before the war. Prior to the conflict, about 20% of the world's oil and gas passed through the strait.

Additionally, 28 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Saturday, August 1st, with six having their transponders turned off, indicating attempts to avoid detection.

A spokesperson for global shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd said some vessels continue to transit the Red Sea but the company is "monitoring developments closely and will adjust the network if circumstances change."

Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, another ship-tracking company, commented that the ongoing fighting has taken the shipping industry "back to square one" and described the situation as "a terrible state, regardless of which shipping type you're looking at."

Iran has denied claims by Donald Trump that it was in talks with the US about reopening the Strait of Hormuz but confirmed it is speaking with Oman about securing the shipping lane.

The escalation in attacks and blockades in the Red Sea adds to the existing constraints on oil flows caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockade, creating a "problem stacked on top of a problem," further impacting global oil markets and freedom of navigation.

Sources