Strait of Hormuz Non-Iranian Oil Transit Surges 50% This Month Despite Blockade Threat

As of June 12, despite persistent U.S.-Iran tensions, crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have jumped notably recently. Energy data firm Vortexa reports that in the first 10 days of June, the daily average volume of non-Iranian crude moving through the strategic waterway hit at least 1.8 million barrels — a 50% rise from May’s roughly 1.2 million barrels. Separately, U.S. sanctions have all but halted Iranian crude oil shipments: no Iranian oil has passed through the strait in that same 10-day window. Xavier Tang, Vortexa’s senior market analyst, says “dark sailing” — when vessels turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to hide their routes — has become standard practice for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. While total oil volumes are still well below the roughly 20 million barrels per day seen before regional tensions escalated, market fears that the strait could be closed have eased sharply. When Iran renewed its threat to block the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, Brent crude futures barely moved — a stark contrast to earlier standoffs, where Iran’s first closure threat once pushed oil prices up by around 13%. President Trump also disclosed that the U.S. military has run a secret escort mission since last month, helping protect roughly 100 million barrels of oil that have passed safely through the strait — equal to more than 2.4 million barrels per day. U.S. Central Command added that since mid-April, it has intercepted two vessels this week that tried to breach a blockade in the Gulf of Oman; one ship suffered an onboard fire on Thursday. Markets are now closely watching whether crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz can hold steady at current levels amid Iran’s latest closure threats. As of press time, WTI crude is trading at $87.38, up 0.25% intraday, while Brent crude stands at $88.58, with a 0.05% daily gain.