What Is the Strait of Hormuz Tracker?

The Strait of Hormuz tracker is a real-time monitoring system aggregating maritime data, energy prices, carrier advisories, and insurance market signals to give a comprehensive picture of transit activity through the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.

Under normal conditions, roughly 21% of the world’s seaborne oil — approximately 20 million barrels per day — passes through the Strait of Hormuz, along with 20% of global LNG trade. The strait is a narrow 33-kilometre waterway between Iran to the north and Oman and the UAE to the south.

Since February 28, 2026, the strait has been effectively closed following U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran. The IRGC formally declared transit prohibited for vessels trading with the United States, Israel, and allied nations — a declaration experts say violates UNCLOS transit passage rights.

This disruption is the largest to world energy supply since the 1970s energy crisis and the largest maritime trade disruption since World War II. Brent crude peaked at $126 per barrel — the largest monthly oil price increase in market history.

Energy Price Impact: Oil, Gas & Fuel

Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel on March 8, 2026 — the first time in four years — reaching a peak of $126/bbl. The March 2026 price increase was the largest single-month move in the history of oil markets.

Why Hormuz spikes prices everywhere

Oil is priced on global commodity markets. When ~20% of supply is removed, the price equilibrium shifts for every buyer globally — even those who don’t import Gulf oil directly. The signal cascades: crude futures (hours) → refined products like diesel and jet fuel (days) → pump prices (weeks) → manufactured goods and food (months).

LNG: the tighter squeeze

LNG is more acutely affected than crude. The Strait of Hormuz carries ~20% of global LNG supply. Unlike crude, LNG cannot be piped around the strait and there are no strategic LNG stockpiles comparable to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The last cargoes are now arriving at destinations with no replacement volumes. Diesel and jet fuel have at times exceeded $200/barrel in Asian spot markets.

Current energy price table

Carrier Status: All 9 Major Lines Suspended

Every major global container carrier has suspended Hormuz transits — the first time in modern maritime history that all major liner services simultaneously abandoned an entire region. Emergency surcharges of $1,500–$4,000 per TEU are active across lines. Over 45 vessels totalling hundreds of thousands of TEU remain trapped.

War Risk Insurance: The Real Commercial Blockade

The withdrawal of war risk insurance is one of the most consequential developments of the crisis. When P&I clubs — which insure the majority of the world’s commercial fleet for third-party liability — withdraw cover, ships lose the ability to enter most major ports worldwide. P&I cover is a requirement for port entry. This makes transit commercially impossible regardless of a carrier’s willingness to accept physical risk.

Premium escalation

Pre-crisis war risk premiums for Hormuz transits were approximately 0.125% of insured hull value per transit. Premiums have surged to 0.8–1.5%+ per transit — an 8–12× increase. For a VLCC (insured value in the hundreds of millions), this translates from ~$125,000 per passage to $2–3 million per passage.

P&I clubs that have cancelled cover

Bypass Pipelines: Can They Replace the Strait?

Total bypass pipeline capacity is approximately 7 million barrels per day against normal strait throughput of ~20 million bbl/day. The gap of ~13 million bbl/day cannot be rerouted through any existing infrastructure. There is no pipeline alternative for LNG whatsoever.

Alternative Shipping Routes & Rerouting Costs

With the Suez Canal also effectively off-limits for Gulf trade (Red Sea remains elevated risk from Houthi operations), the Cape of Good Hope around South Africa is the default for all major carriers.

Cape of Good Hope impact

Global Trade Impact: Who Is Most Affected?

The economic cost of the closure exceeds $4 billion per day in direct trade impact, excluding secondary manufacturing, consumption, and financial market effects. Cumulative supply losses have reached approximately 650 million barrels by late April 2026.

Most critically affected nations

Beyond oil and gas

Aluminum: Gulf smelters supply a significant share of global aluminum. Energy costs and logistics disruptions are affecting output and pricing. Fertilizers: Qatar is a major exporter of nitrogen fertilizers (ammonia, urea) that transit Hormuz — threatening agricultural input markets globally. Helium: Qatar supplies ~30% of global helium used in semiconductors, MRI machines, and aerospace — no short-term alternative source exists.

2026 Hormuz Crisis Timeline

How This Compares: The Biggest Energy Disruptions Ever

The 2026 Hormuz closure is unprecedented in the era of globalized energy markets. Unlike prior disruptions, it is a total blockade affecting both oil and LNG simultaneously, with an insurance withdrawal that makes re-entry near-impossible even for risk-tolerant operators.

Strait of Hormuz FAQ

How to Track the Strait of Hormuz

A high-quality Strait of Hormuz tracker synthesises data from: AIS maritime platforms (MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, Kpler) for vessel movement; energy price feeds (ICE/Brent, NYMEX/WTI, TTF gas, JKM LNG); carrier advisories (Maersk Alerts, MSC Advisories, CMA CGM updates, Hapag-Lloyd notices); insurance signals (Lloyd’s JWC Listed Areas, Gard/Skuld circulars, International Group of P&I Clubs); and government sources (UKMTO incident reports, MARAD advisories, EIA weekly petroleum reports, IEA Monthly Oil Market Report).

AIS counts are always lower bounds — vessels disable transponders in conflict zones. Any tracker that doesn’t note this caveat is incomplete. Combine AIS with satellite imagery, carrier self-reports, and government advisories for the fullest picture.

Primary data sources for this tracker

Carrier websites (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO, ONE, HMM, Evergreen, PIL) · MarineTraffic · Kpler · S&P Global Market Intelligence · UKMTO · EIA · IEA · Clarksons Research · Reuters · Bloomberg · Atlantic Council · Wikipedia (2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis article) · oilpriceapi.com