Strait of Hormuz Traffic Increases on June 16-17, but Remains Below Pre-War Levels
According to The Maritime Executive, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of increasing on June 16 and 17, though activity remains well below pre-war levels. Three Iranian-owned vessels—the NITC tankers Diona, Hero2, and the Suezmax Sonia I—moved out of the eastern end of the U.S. naval blockade on June 16, a development that has been widely noted.
Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) Prescribes Route
Inside the Gulf, near Larak Island, an area that shipping must pass under Iranian-mandated rules of the PGSA, the waters are active with groups of fast speedboats. These are not necessarily Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps craft, as civilian trader speedboats often travel in small groups en route to Khasab on the Musandam Peninsula. Two 277-meter Suezmax tankers are heading out of the Gulf on the PGSA-prescribed route, with one rounding Larak Island and the other further east making for the lee of the Iranian Sirik coastline.
AIS Tracking Data Reveals Limited Activity
On June 17, very little traffic is identifiable in AIS tracking data, except for the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Thalassini moving south in the PGSA outward channel. On June 15, the Maltese-flagged LNG carrier Disha made an outward transit to India with its AIS transponder switched on.
Tankers at Anchor
Elsewhere in the Gulf, nearly all vessels are stationary and at anchor. An unidentified Aframax tanker was loading at the Kooh Mobarak Single Point Mooring (SPM) on the Jask Peninsula on June 15 and 16, marking the first tanker seen loading there since June 1. This suggests sporadic use during the crisis and possible restrictions on crude flows reaching the terminal from the collection point at Goreh in Bushehr Province. The Guinea-flagged, OFAC-sanctioned vessel Vernon has been anchored 1.75 nautical miles due south of the SPM since May 19 and is still not loading.
Kharg Island Area Remains Unchanged
In the Kharg Island area, there is no evidence of change to the situation that has persisted for several months. Up to June 15, imagery showed no tankers moving onto loading piers, nor movement in the large fleet of tankers anchored southwest of Kharg Island. A satellite image from June 17 indicated around 24 tankers in the anchorage, with approximately 16 likely laden with oil, still loitering despite indications that a few unladen tankers and cargo ships have crossed the U.S. blockade.
Maritime Community Waits for Clarity
Although traffic has not generally picked up, there is ample evidence that both oil and LNG tankers in ballast are pre-positioning toward the Gulf area in expectation that traffic will resume soon. However, the maritime community remains in a wait-and-see mode until the modalities of future Strait of Hormuz transits become clearer—whether using the 1968 Traffic Separation Scheme, the PGSA system, or variations. Some clarity may emerge when the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) describing interim arrangements is released on June 21. Caution has been reinforced by a statement from President Trump at the G7 conference at Evian, in which he said the text of the MoU, scheduled for release on Friday June 21, is not yet fixed, accompanied by more threats to bomb the Iranians. Additionally, drafts of the 14-clause MoU published by NBC and other U.S. media organizations have been disavowed.
Original Article: Strait of Hormuz Traffic Increases on June 16-17, 2026, but Remains Below Pre-War Levels — Indexbox