How Much Oil Is Really Getting Through the Strait of Hormuz?

Strait of Hormuz

Reports that 18 million barrels of oil crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday suggest traffic may be approaching pre-war levels. Before the conflict, roughly 20 million barrels per day passed through the strategic waterway.

According to ShipXplorer data, 4 commodity vessels crossed the Strait on Tuesday, compared with 10 the previous day and an average of around 13 daily crossings over the preceding 10 days.

Other maritime tracking data show visible traffic:

1. • Lloyd’s List Intelligence recorded roughly 12 transits per day between August 26 and September 1.
2. • JMIC reported 44 U.S.-facilitated vessel crossings over September 1–2, or around 22 per day, while its independent tracking showed only single-digit numbers moving in each direction.
3. • Before the war, the Strait handled more than 100 vessel movements per day and around 20 million barrels of oil and refined products daily.

One VLCC can carry roughly 2 million barrels, while a smaller tanker is counted as a single vessel. The available data provides only part of the picture. Until more vessels become visible through AIS, the true scale of traffic — and the amount of oil reaching global markets — remains uncertain.