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Maritime Activity in the Strait of Hormuz Amidst US-Iran Tensions

Friday, May 29, 2026
5 min read
Maritime Activity in the Strait of Hormuz Amidst US-Iran Tensions

So, a growing number of ships, not linked to Iran, are still managing to push through the Strait of Hormuz. Even with Iran maintaining that blockade, amid all the wider Middle East mess, maritime data released Thursday shows they’re still crossing.

It’s coming from Lloyd’s List Intelligence. They looked at the data.

Ships flagged under countries like Singapore, the UAE, South Korea, and Norway. They’ve started crossing the strait in bigger numbers recently.

Bridget Diakun, an analyst over there, she pointed this out. She said last week alone, they saw ships from Singapore, the UAE, South Korea, and even a Norway-flagged vessel going through the Gulf. Just exiting, you know?

This trend seems really focused on the massive oil carriers. The very large crude carriers, the ones not connected to Iran. Kpler data, they showed that more than half of the tanker crossings recorded since the conflict started actually happened in May alone.

Between May 20th and the 26th, five major oil tankers just exited the Gulf through that strait.

We’re talking about things like the Eagle Veracruz , sailing under the Singapore flag. And then there were the Eagle Verona and the Yuan Gui Yang , both Chinese-flagged. They were reportedly heading straight for China.

Then there was the Universal Winner , flagged by South Korea, aiming for South Korea. And the Nissos Keros , flying the Marshall Islands flag, was reportedly headed for India.

And get this. Lloyd’s List Intelligence noted that some of these nations—China, India, South Korea, and Japan—they’ve actually coordinated with Iranian authorities. Trying to make sure these ships get safe passage through the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz itself, it’s still one of those super critical maritime routes. It carries a huge chunk of global oil and gas exports, especially from the Gulf countries.

Iran did set up the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the PGSA, back on May 18th. They wanted to control navigation and collect fees there.

But that move immediately got backlash from Washington. The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against the PGSA on Wednesday. They warned that penalties could hit anyone paying those transit fees to the authority.

All this tension, it just adds another layer of uncertainty to shipping operations in the whole region.

Meanwhile, things got more immediate. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on Thursday that Iranian forces actually fired at four ships. These were ships that were trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz without getting the necessary authorization.

It all comes right in the middle of the ongoing US-Iran friction. Both sides are accusing the other of breaking some truce, following months of military escalation. That escalation started with those US-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year. It’s a messy situation.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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