Iran's Araghchi says 7-day Hormuz reopening plan still under review
Foreign minister says Tehran awaits US response on conditions to reopen strait and resume talks.
Chokepoint Watch
Straits, canals and corridors under pressure, in numbers
- Filed into
- Chokepoints, Cost of the Detour, Company announcement
- Published
- 40 pieces
- Since
- 10 September 2026
Desks are editorial units of MENA Trade Monitor. No individual is named; the desk is the byline.
Latest from this desk
Romania Shoots Down Two Russian Drones Over Sulina Canal Entrance
F-16 jets intercepted Geran-4 drones 11 and 13 nautical miles southeast of the strategic waterway after separate tanker incidents.
Shipping costs hit $40.50 per barrel on U.S.-Japan oil route
Freight now accounts for over 40 percent of U.S. crude price, up from 7 percent average in 2025.
Seven crew missing after tanker strikes near Sulina canal
Drone attacks on two chemical tankers off Romania left seven sailors missing and disrupted traffic through the Danube export corridor.
Gemini relaunch to Khor Fakkan adds capacity amid port congestion
First sailing departs Qingdao 17 October as UAE gateway shows signs of pressure from volumes shifted outside Strait of Hormuz.
CMA CGM sustains Suez Canal return as large vessel transits surge
SCA reports 166 medium and large container ships crossed between July and September 2026, up from 16 in the same period last year.
Tanker struck 51 nautical miles north of Qatar reports casualties
UKMTO confirms multiple projectile hits on vessel in third reported attack within 48 hours across the Gulf region.
Iraq ships 2 million barrels via Hormuz on first VLCC run in decades
State tanker company completes maiden very large crude carrier voyage as Baghdad seeks alternative export routes following Strait disruption.
Supertankers avoid Gulf transfer hub as freight costs surge
Empty vessels turn from Persian Gulf as Iranian attacks disrupt ship-to-ship operations and tanker rates reach record levels.
Gulf crude exports recover while diesel stays scarce at 58% of pre-war flow
G7 announced 100 million barrel emergency release as global inventories fell 507 million barrels since February.
Japanese refiners return to Middle East crude via ship transfers
Japan-linked tankers picking up cargoes in Gulf of Oman offshore transfers, avoiding Strait of Hormuz transits.
Oil benchmarks diverge as WTI rises 0.67%, Brent falls below $106
OPEC Basket recorded strongest gain at 4.14% while Murban crude dropped 1.49% in early Wednesday trading.
Saudi crude flows through Hormuz reach 2.58 million bpd in September
Shipments through the strait rose to their highest level since the Iran conflict began as Red Sea traffic fell by more than half.
Egypt calls for Red Sea navigation security as Iran tensions rise
Foreign minister Abdelatty stresses freedom of navigation through Bab Al-Mandab in calls with Gulf and US counterparts.
Middle East oil exports reach 12.8 million bpd in September recovery
Saudi Arabia restored half its Red Sea pipeline capacity while Hormuz flows climbed to near 80 percent of prewar levels.
Kallas Calls for 10-Warship EU Red Sea Force as Houthi Threat Escalates
EU foreign policy chief says Operation Aspides needs four more vessels to meet original deployment target amid rising attacks on shipping.
Hormuz transit at 17 vessels versus pre-crisis 125, Qatar LNG expansion faces equipment delays
QatarEnergy warns strait disruption is delaying North Field buildout equipment deliveries as crossings remain constrained.
UK-GCC Strategic Dialogue set for October 20 to operationalize May trade pact
Qatar's Ministry of Commerce confirmed as institutional partner as event focuses on turning agreement into trade and investment partnerships.
Sharjah-Oman corridor cargo value rises 66% to Dh1.7bn in Q1
Truck movements exceeded 34,000 through the two-crossing system in its first three months of operation.
Strait of Hormuz disruptions worst global trade threat in 80 years, WTO chief warns
Fertiliser shipment restrictions through the strait are contributing to converging food crisis risk alongside Ukraine war and El Niño effects.
VLCC orders double in 2026 as Gulf disruption drives $20bn buying spree
Middle East Gulf-China benchmark rates broke through $1 million per day for the first time as longer voyages and route disruption tighten supertanker capacity.
South Korea denies immediate Strait of Hormuz deployment plans
Presidential office says no decision made on military assets for the waterway as internal evaluations continue.
China asks Iran to restrain Houthis after Saudi appeal on Red Sea
Beijing's private message followed Houthi advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast that exposed Saudi oil exports to increased risk.
Brent crude drops to $104.59 as Saudi Arabia routes oil shipments via Oman
West Texas Intermediate fell to $101.29 per barrel following reports of alternative export arrangements through Sohar port.
Saudi Arabia routes 20 million barrels through Hormuz as pipeline stays offline
Aramco moved crude to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers in Gulf of Oman, up from 4 million barrels in August.
Fujairah bunker fuel hits $1,005 per ton as Hormuz disruption persists
Singapore VLSFO stands at $908 per ton while Fujairah premium reflects constrained Gulf supply and reduced bunkering activity.
China crude stocks fall as refinery intake climbs to 15-month low
Diesel and gasoline inventories at state majors down 2.4 and 2.9 percent respectively in week to August 12.
US crude inventories rise 7.1 million barrels as Iran conflict disrupts flows
API data shows gasoline and distillate stocks also gained in week ending September 11.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd resume four Suez Canal services
AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 routes return to Red Sea corridor after Cape of Good Hope diversions.
VLCC rates breach $1m/day as Hormuz risk drives vintage tonnage above newbuild values
Twenty-year-old VLCCs now assessed at $71.1m against $20.8m scrap value as war risk premium rewrites tanker economics.
Dry bulk voyage times up 19% since 2020 as slow steaming tightens fleet
Average laden voyage now runs 22.42 days, removing effective capacity as freight rates surge to multi-year highs.
Brent crude up 3.2% as Saudi East-West Pipeline closes after drone strike
Seven million barrels per day of export capacity offline; WTI gains 3.3% to $103 per barrel.
WEC Lines Opens Nador-Portugal Container Service with 868-TEU Vessels
Dutch carrier launches weekly rotation linking Moroccan port to Setúbal and northern Europe starting September 10.
Bab al-Mandab transits show conflicting data as Houthis take coast
Houthi statement reports 73 vessels in 48 hours while Kpler data shows Friday crossings fell to 15 from 30 the previous day.
Physical oil trading now governed by compliance layers, say executives
Route safety, insurance and bank financing must clear before price assessment, APPEC panel reports.
Coal demand forecast raised to 8.94 billion tonnes on Hormuz LNG disruption
IEA revises 2026 global consumption upward by 1.2 percent as gas prices drive shift to coal-fired generation.
Kuwait Petroleum explores Saudi and UAE pipeline links amid Hormuz constraints
State energy company pursuing regional routing alternatives as disruption cuts production by 900,000 barrels per day since February.
Egypt crude import bill hits $2.2bn as Hormuz disruption drives prices
First-half 2026 spending more than triples year-on-year as Brent reaches $97.35 and strait traffic falls to May lows.
Iraq Tendering for Supertankers as Hormuz Exports Pass 3m bpd
Baghdad seeks vessels to maintain crude flows through the strait as exports recover to pre-conflict levels using ship-to-ship transfers.
Houthis seize Mokha port 75km from Bab al-Mandeb Strait
Government forces relocate south to Dhubab as group expands control over Yemen's Red Sea coastline.
The rows this desk maintains
The Chokepoint Board| Chokepoint | Week ending | Recorded status | Transits per day | Transits in week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bab el-Mandeb | 2026-08-30 | restricted | 26.3 | 184 |
| Cape of Good Hope diversion | 2026-08-30 | open | 91.9 | 643 |
| Strait of Hormuz | 2026-08-30 | restricted | 4.3 | 30 |
| Suez Canal | 2026-08-30 | open | 43 | 301 |
| Bab el-Mandeb | 2026-08-23 | restricted | 29.4 | 206 |
| Cape of Good Hope diversion | 2026-08-23 | open | 91.6 | 641 |
| Strait of Hormuz | 2026-08-23 | restricted | 5 | 35 |
| Suez Canal | 2026-08-23 | open | 42 | 294 |
What this desk does not do
Situational and current only. Incidents, costs, advisories, designations. Horizon hours to weeks. Never explain a corridor; link to MENA Trade for that.
The same rule decides what reaches MENA Trade Monitor rather than one of the other nine titles. See the editorial policy.