Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in peacetime.

The war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the region and sharply restrict access to the strait.

- 95% shipping drop -

The channel typically sees around 120 daily transits, according to shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List.

From March 1 to 25, commodities carriers made just 155 crossings, according to analytics firm Kpler -- a decrease of 95 percent.

Of these, 99 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.

Just two vessels were detected crossing the strait on Wednesday, both heading west.

- 24 security incidents -

Since March 1, 2026, 24 commercial vessels, including 11 tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, according to the British naval maritime security agency UKMTO.

Across all types of vessels, an additional four attacks claimed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have not been confirmed by international authorities.

- Eight sea workers killed -

Since the conflict began, at least eight seafarers or dock workers have died in incidents in the region, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

A further four remained missing and 10 were injured.

Around 20,000 seafarers are affected in the region, according to the IMO.

- 300 oil, gas ships signal -

Over the past day, 2,290 vessels sent transponder signals west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg data.

Of those, 332 were oil or gas vessels -- including 13 very large gas carriers and 54 very large crude carriers, according to the data.

- 20 ships approved by Iran -

Recent crossings appeared to have mainly used a Tehran-approved route apparently approved by Iran around Larak Island just off the country's coast, dubbed the "Tehran toll booth" by leading shipping journal Lloyd's List.

The journal said Monday it had tracked more than 20 ships using the so-called corridor, most Greek-owned but others Indian-, Pakistani- and Syrian-owned.

- 55 sanctioned ships -

Since the war started, more than 43 percent of the crossings have been by ships under US, EU or UK sanctions, according to an AFP analysis of passage data.

Of the crossings by oil and gas tankers, 56 percent were by vessels under sanctions.