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Live ship data via MarineTraffic
Live Ship Tracking
Every vessel currently inside the Strait of Hormuz, tracked in real time via AIS transponder data. During the 2026 crisis, daily transits have fallen from over 100 ships to fewer than 10.
| ~8 Daily transits (March 2026) | 153 Pre-crisis daily average | 95% Traffic reduction | 20% World oil supply at stake |
What This Tracker Shows You
The map and vessel count above pull live data from AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders — the same signal-broadcasting technology required by international maritime law on all commercial ships over 300 gross tonnes. Every 60 seconds, our system queries vessels broadcasting within the Strait of Hormuz bounding box (25.5–27.0°N, 55.5–58.5°E) and updates the count you see above.
During normal conditions, this tracker would show over 100 ships in transit at any given time. During the current crisis, you may see fewer than ten — or none. That gap is the story.
| 📡 AIS Position Reports Ships broadcast their GPS position, speed, heading, and destination every 2–10 seconds. We collect these within the Hormuz bounding box. | 🛢 Vessel Type Breakdown We categorise each vessel as tanker, cargo, military, or other based on its AIS ship-type code, so you can see what is actually moving. |
| ⚠️ Dark Vessel Warning Some ships have switched off their AIS to avoid identification. Our count only shows broadcasting vessels — actual traffic may differ slightly. | 🔄 60-Second Refresh The tracker updates automatically. You do not need to reload the page. The timestamp in the dashboard shows exactly when data was last fetched. |
Shipping Status by Flag — March 2026
Iran has made the Strait selectively accessible rather than uniformly closed. Whether a ship can pass depends largely on its flag state, cargo destination, and direct diplomatic negotiation with the IRGC. Here is what ship tracking data and diplomatic reporting shows as of this week:
| Flag / Country | Status | Notes |
| 🇮🇳 India | LIMITED | Two LPG carriers permitted March 15–16 after direct Tehran talks. Case-by-case basis. |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | LIMITED | Tanker Karachi transited March 15 — first non-Iranian tanker with AIS on. Hugged Iranian territorial waters. |
| 🇨🇳 China | LIMITED | 11 China-linked vessels transited March 1–15, mostly general cargo. Chinese tankers largely still avoiding. |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | LIMITED | One Turkish vessel approved after transport minister secured permission directly from Tehran. |
| 🇺🇸 US / Allied | BLOCKED | IRGC explicitly prohibits passage for US, Israeli, and Western allied vessels. War risk insurance cancelled March 5. |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | UNCERTAIN | Saudi oil increasingly rerouted via East–West Pipeline to Yanbu (Red Sea) rather than through the Strait. |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | UNCERTAIN | Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline diverting some volume to Fujairah on the Arabian Sea. Strait transit risk high. |
| Other / Stateless | UNKNOWN | Some vessels broadcast fake Chinese credentials to seek safe passage. Verification remains unreliable. |
Crisis Timeline
Understanding what the live tracker shows requires knowing how quickly the Strait went from normal to near-zero traffic. Here is the sequence of events that brought shipping to a standstill.
FEBRUARY 28, 2026
● US–Israeli strikes on Iran — conflict begins
Outbound traffic through the Strait was heavy on the final day before hostilities. 105 ships transited — about 68% of normal daily volume. By midnight, incoming traffic had gone quiet.
MARCH 2, 2026
● IRGC officially declares Strait closed
A senior IRGC official confirmed closure and threatened to attack any vessel attempting transit. At midnight, no tankers inside the Strait were broadcasting AIS signals. Oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel.
MARCH 5, 2026
● War risk insurance cancelled — economic closure begins
P&I insurance withdrawn for Strait transits, making it commercially unviable. Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM all suspended operations.
MARCH 5–13, 2026
● Selective passage begins — India, China, Pakistan
Iran signals the Strait is ‘closed only to enemies.’ India, Pakistan, China, and Turkey open direct diplomatic channels with Tehran. Ships from these nations begin case-by-case negotiations.
MARCH 15, 2026
● First non-Iranian tanker transits with AIS on
Pakistani-flagged tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi crude, becomes the first confirmed non-Iranian tanker to transit while broadcasting AIS — hugging Iranian territorial waters.
MARCH 18–20, 2026
● IRGC vetting system under development
Iran is reportedly building a formal registration and pre-approval system for Strait transits. Ships must submit detailed ownership and cargo destination data to the IRGC in advance. Traffic has nearly doubled week-on-week but remains 95% below pre-crisis levels.
Why AIS data sometimes understates real traffic
During the 2026 crisis, a significant number of vessels have disabled their AIS transponders — ‘going dark’ — to transit the Strait without being identified. Some vessels have also been observed broadcasting false credentials. Our live vessel count reflects only ships that are actively broadcasting. Think of our tracker as the confirmed floor, not the ceiling.
How to Read the Ship Count
The number displayed in the tracker shows vessels currently broadcasting AIS signals inside the Strait of Hormuz bounding box. Here is what different ranges mean in the context of the current crisis:
- 0–5 vessels: Effective closure. Only Iranian navy or approved diplomatic transits. Situation at its most severe.
- 5–20 vessels: Selective passage. A small number of pre-approved ships from neutral nations moving through under IRGC oversight.
- 20–60 vessels: Partial reopening. Diplomatic progress being made; insurance conditions likely improving.
- 60–100 vessels: Approaching normal. War risk premiums dropping; major carriers returning.
- 100+ vessels: Normal operations restored. Pre-crisis baseline was roughly 153 transits per day.
The vessel type breakdown in the dashboard also matters. Tankers and LNG carriers are the most economically significant — a day of tanker paralysis represents roughly 20 million barrels of oil failing to reach world markets. Cargo ships affect manufactured goods and container trade. Military vessels signal escalation or de-escalation depending on which nation’s flag they fly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ships are in the Strait of Hormuz today?
The live tracker at the top of this page shows the current vessel count, updated every 60 seconds. As of mid-March 2026, daily transit numbers have dropped to single digits for non-Iranian ships — down from a pre-crisis average of over 153 vessels per day. The figures fluctuate hour by hour based on diplomatic negotiations and IRGC decisions.
Is the Strait of Hormuz open or closed right now?
The Strait is under what analysts are calling a ‘selective blockade.’ Iran’s IRGC closed it officially on March 2, 2026, following US–Israeli strikes on Iran. As of late March, Iran is allowing ships from neutral nations — primarily India, China, Pakistan, and Turkey — to transit on a case-by-case basis after submitting ownership and cargo details to the IRGC. A formal IRGC vetting system is reportedly under development.
What is AIS data and how reliable is it?
AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a mandatory transponder system on commercial ships over 300 gross tonnes. Ships broadcast their position, speed, course, name, MMSI number, and destination continuously. It is highly reliable under normal conditions.
During the 2026 crisis, reliability is reduced because some vessels have switched off their transponders to avoid identification. These ‘dark vessels’ are invisible to AIS-based tracking. Our tracker shows only broadcasting vessels. Satellite radar can detect dark vessels but is not available in real time at this price point.
Why have major shipping companies suspended Hormuz operations?
Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM all suspended Strait of Hormuz transits following the outbreak of hostilities. The primary reasons are crew safety risk from IRGC attacks, and the withdrawal of war risk insurance on March 5, 2026. Without insurance, ship owners face unlimited liability for losses — making transit commercially unviable regardless of physical risk tolerance.
Are there alternative routes if the Strait stays closed?
Some alternatives exist but none match the Strait’s scale. Saudi Arabia is diverting oil via the East–West Crude Oil Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, while the UAE is using the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline to Fujairah on the Arabian Sea. However, combined pipeline capacity covers only 3.5–5.5 million barrels per day versus the Strait’s normal 20+ million.
The Red Sea route itself is also vulnerable to Houthi attacks, which resumed on February 28 — meaning both major Middle Eastern maritime corridors are simultaneously disrupted for the first time in modern history.
How does the Strait closure affect oil prices?
Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel on March 8, 2026 — rising more than 40% from a pre-war price of around $65. It peaked at $126 per barrel. This is the fastest oil price surge during any conflict in recent history. The closure has been described as the largest disruption to the global energy supply since the 1970s energy crisis. Higher oil prices feed into petrol prices, transport costs, airline fares, and broader inflation worldwide.
What fraction of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz?
Approximately 20% of global petroleum liquids and 20% of global LNG transits the Strait of Hormuz. In 2023, the US Energy Information Administration reported average daily flows of 20.9 million barrels per day. Qatar alone accounts for roughly 12–14% of Europe’s LNG, all of which previously moved through the Strait. The closure of this single waterway has triggered supply concerns for energy markets across Asia, Europe, and South Asia simultaneously.