finance
Vessels Use Oman Route After Iran Rejects New Hormuz Corridor and IMO Pauses Evacuations
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued on a southern passage near Oman on Thursday and Friday even after a Singapore-flagged container ship was struck by a projectile. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the route had not been approved by Tehran.
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At least 42 commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, June 25, 2026, according to Kpler tracking data. Ten entered the Gulf and 32 exited. Half of those vessels used a southern passageway that runs along the coast of Oman.
By Friday afternoon, June 26, another 29 commodity vessels had crossed, with 10 entering the Gulf and 19 leaving. Seventeen of the 29 used the Omani route. A Singapore-flagged container ship reported being struck by a projectile while using that passage on Thursday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre recorded the incident. Marine Traffic logged around 15 tankers and cargo vessels crossing between 1410 GMT and midnight that day. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on Thursday that Oman and the International Maritime Organization had announced the corridor without consulting Tehran.
It said the only authorised transit routes are those designated by Iran. The attack prompted the International Maritime Organization to suspend a program to evacuate about 11,000 mariners stranded by the earlier closure of the strait. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said he had decided to pause the plan to reconfirm safety guarantees for the listed ships and others in the region.
Traffic through the strait has risen steadily since June 15. Kpler recorded 70 confirmed crossings by all vessels on Wednesday, compared with a peacetime average of around 125 transits per day. The waterway normally carries about a fifth of global oil and gas exports.
