Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz stayed at minimal levels Friday, with tankers and cargo ships forming a vast queue outside the waterway and along the UAE coast, as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports held and Iran’s effective closure of the strait continued.
The choke point is a critical route for global oil and gas shipments, and the extended shutdown has added pressure to energy markets while leaving vessels idled offshore and activity at Iranian ports subdued, according to maritime data observed over recent days.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in its latest update Wednesday that no ships have breached the blockade since it began on April 13. Ten merchant vessels have complied with U.S. directions to turn back and re-enter Iranian waters, and U.S. forces have not had to board any ships so far, the command said.
Euronews journalists in Dubai reported tankers and other vessels “piling up” outside the strait toward Dubai and other UAE ports, while traffic indicators at Iranian ports showed little movement. The U.S. has said the blockade is being enforced impartially against any ship entering or leaving Iranian coastal areas or ports; vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected.
Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, said Thursday that U.S. forces have “completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea,” with more than 10,000 personnel, over a dozen ships and more than 100 aircraft enforcing the operation.
The United States has framed the blockade as pressure on Tehran to end its closure of Hormuz and to stop sanctions-evading oil shipments via so-called dark transits. Tehran’s move to constrict the waterway in response to U.S. and Israeli actions has rippled through global markets.
Humanitarian shipments are among categories exempted under a CENTCOM notice to mariners, adding complexity to navigation decisions. Washington has also circulated an expansive contraband list: arms and military equipment as “absolute contraband,” and items including oil, iron, steel, aluminum and some civilian goods as “conditional contraband” that it argues could support military use.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he would extend an Iran ceasefire “if needed,” adding, “I think we have very successful negotiation going on right now, and I think it’ll be, if it happens, it’ll be announced fairly soon and that’ll give us free oil, free Hormuz Strait. Everything will be nice.”
Iran’s joint military commander, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt all trade in the region if the U.S. blockade—described by Tehran as a ceasefire violation—continues. Other Iranian officials have warned Hormuz tensions could spread to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait.
China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, criticized the U.S. move as “dangerous and irresponsible” and called for safeguarding navigation through the strait, while urging Iran to take steps to open the waterway. Earlier, Trump said on social media that China had agreed not to provide weapons to Iran; China’s Foreign Ministry denied those reports.
Amid the standoff, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said 150 sailors on six of its vessels are stuck near Hormuz. “Five and a half weeks in a war zone — that’s something relatively new,” spokesperson Nils Haupt told the Associated Press, describing efforts to keep crews supported and in contact with families.
The Institute for the Study of War cautioned that, given exemptions and the difficulty of vetting origin, destination and neutrality, it is too early to judge whether any vessels have slipped through the blockade. It noted that several ships, including three Iranian or Iran-linked vessels, entered Hormuz on April 14; one, the Ocean Energy, docked at Bandar Abbas on April 13, though it is unclear if it was exempt.
Officials have not given a timeline for reopening normal traffic. Further updates from CENTCOM and any movement in negotiations signaled by Washington and Tehran will be watched closely by shippers and energy markets.
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