Published on 6/22/2026
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Last update: 15:50 (Mecca time)
During the past 72 hours, the world regained its breath after the signing of the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding and returned to a state of relative stability in the region. However, economic stability and energy prices await the state of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
With the agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz, challenges arise regarding the return of navigation to its normal level, amid a state of uncertainty that still exists in the maritime shipping sector.
Despite the partial improvement in the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, ship crossing levels are still very far from pre-war levels, when approximately 120 ships were crossing the Strait every day.
During the past Friday and Saturday, about 37 ships crossed the strait, which is a clear improvement compared to the average crossing during the first 110 days of the war, which did not exceed about 10 ships per day.
In light of this anticipation, a statistical and spatial analysis of the island’s data unit – based on the “Marine Traffic” platform specialized in tracking maritime shipping movement – revealed that 530 ships are still stationed within Iran’s exclusive economic zone out of the total ships and tankers present in the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, equivalent to approximately 23%.
Regarding the details of the number of ships, the analysis provided by Abdullah Sukkar’s report to Al Jazeera shows that, as of June 21, there were 1,566 cargo ships in the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, in addition to 750 tankers (including 531 tankers for crude oil and petroleum products, 73 gas tankers, and 101 chemical and logistical tankers).
Since this morning, 15 tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, with 7 tankers entering and 8 leaving, according to data from the Kepler maritime navigation platform.
The US Central Command (Centcom) had spoken about the crossing of a relatively large number of ships on June 20, as 55 commercial ships carried out a safe crossing (i.e., through the international waterway), and it also spoke about the passage of about 17 million barrels of oil.
130 million barrels are stuck
The data also revealed that 255 loaded oil tankers are still stationed in the region, of which 168 tankers are inside the Gulf waters, while the remaining tankers are stationed in the Gulf of Oman. The total tonnage of these tankers is about 130 million barrels of oil and its derivatives.
However, recent data on the Kepler platform revealed an increasing development in the volume of crude oil in transit, as it reached its peak yesterday, Sunday, when about 12 million barrels of oil crossed through the Strait of Hormuz only, according to what was reported in the economic reading on the Al Jazeera screen.
As for the gas tankers, they are distributed among 12 LNG tankers (including 8 tankers loaded with approximately 1,400,000 cubic meters of LNG, and 61 LPG tankers (including 26 tankers loaded with approximately 1,150,000 cubic meters of LPG).
Mines impede navigation
Obstructing the return of navigation to its normal level is not limited only to political matters, as sea mines make it difficult to return to normal. The Association of Independent Oil Tanker Owners estimated that there are 80 sea mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, which requires time to clear them.
Between tankers waiting in the water, transit traffic slowly improving, and an agreement approaching the moment of decision, global markets seem to be the first to read the signs of calm. The prices of oil, gas and fertilizers fell, albeit slightly, following the announcement of the memorandum of understanding, awaiting a complete agreement that is expected to restore confidence again in the most sensitive strategic waterways in the world.
