The number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz rose 27 percent in the past week, according to a CNN analysis of figures from the UK Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO), which recorded 103 entering and 89 leaving.
However, that is only 20 percent of the seven-day pre-war average, with the waterway still a focal point of the Iran war.
Most vessels were flagged from Panama (7) and Liberia (6), with none from the United States. The most common type of vessel traveling through the strait was the product tanker, which typically transports refined petroleum products.
For now, the evidence shows the US Navy gaining ground in the strait while Iran loses much of its control, with more than 80 percent of liquids transiting over the past two weeks taking the Omani route – a UN-authorized shipping channel that Iran vehemently opposes.
Earlier this week, the US Navy helped ship more than 15 million barrels of oil and products out of the strait and another five million via pipelines, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Saturday on X.
