Middle East tanker transits August 18-24, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 13.3/day

 

 

https://www.ukmto.org/-/media/ukmto/products/update-089-jmic-advisory-note-25-august.pdf?rev=2ead1ce051fa4c21be1cc8daf7925ef4

OK, I charted four months of Strait of Hormuz tanker transits as reported in UKMTO JMIC Updates even though some people have thought the data is . . . Wei Tu Lo

 It is what it is.

You know the score. Gasoline isn't $5, but it isn't a buck seventy-five, either.

Meanwhile, the US Navy is spending vast sums everyday to maintain whatever it is we're supposed to be calling this black hole into which we are flushing billion$ down the drain.

 

 

Middle East tanker transits August 16-22, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 12.6/day

 

Middle East tanker transits August 13-19, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.9/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 11.0/day

WTI is $86

Brent is $94

Gasoline averages $4.10

Diesel averages $5.59

 

U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, Total Stocks, year over year:

Jan 23  +107.7 million barrels

Aug 14 -127.8 million barrels

 

 

Middle East tanker transits Aug 11-17, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 8.7/day

 JMIC UPDATE 086:

... IRGC attacks, hailing, and routing pressure continue, particularly for AIS-on vessels [in the Strait of Hormuz]. ... Vessels stationary for extended periods, or maintaining AIS-on while static, may still face elevated targeting risk [in the Arabian Gulf]. ... AIS-off operations at Yanbu remain the established norm. The AIS-off berth and waiting-area posture has been sustained without interruption for six weeks. ... AIS-off operations at Yanbu berths, waiting areas and approaches are highly likely to remain elevated. ...  

Middle East tanker transits August 9-15, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 9.6/day

 

Middle East tanker transits August 6-12, 2026 per UKMTO JMIC Update 084: Strait of Hormuz 1.9/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 10.6/day

Middle East tanker transits August 4-10, 2026

 SoH: 1.9/day (70.0/day 2022)

BAM: 10.1/day (30.0/day 2022)

 

S

Middle East tanker transits August 2-8, 2026

 Per UKMTO JMIC Update 082:

SoH: 2.1/day

BAM: 8.6/day

 

The Trump administration is going to become irrelevant in 2 years, if it hasn't already

Fixed it for ya. 

20% of the world's oil production will never not be relevant. 

Bessent: The Strait of Hormuz Is Going To Become Irrelevant In 2 Years

Middle East outbound oil flows through both Straits are back down in the range of 6 million barrels per day if Bab-el-Mandeb is now indeed a return to the pre-war level

 It appears that there is nothing extra coming out of the Red Sea anymore, diverted by Saudi Arabia west to Yanbu.

UAE moved 0.95 mbpd through Hormuz in July 2026, but 2.28 mbpd out of Fujairah which doesn't go through Hormuz, which would be in addition to the now ~6 million through Hormuz, yielding 8.28 mbpd approximately, as we speak.

That's 62% off the pre-war level of ~22 mbpd out of the Middle East.

Trump not vanquishing the Houthis in 2025 is America's chickens comin' home to roost.

 

Middle East tanker transits in JMIC Update 081 for July 30-August 5, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.1/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 7.9/day

 Agust. It's hot out there.

Middle East tanker transits July 28-August 3, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 10.0/day

 BAM dropped off to just 6.75/day after July 30 from 14.3/day before.

 

Middle East tanker transits July 26-August 1, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.0/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 10.7/day

SoH normal 2022: 70.0/day

BAM normal 2022: 30.0/day

Middle East tanker traffic July 23-29, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.3 per day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 10.7 per day

 I find the Traffic Trends claim in JMIC Update 078 for BAM REALLY difficult to believe.

Combined cargo and tankers in the tables averages 35 per day on July 28 and July 29 compared with baseline 60.

Baseline tankers alone would be 30 per day, instead they're showing 13 per day average for the two days, 10.7 per day over the seven days. 

The claim is that vessels are running dark. 

But the Saudis are loading NOTHING at Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf, where there is also oil in the water in satellite photography, and the Houthis droned Saudi oil infrastructure to Yanbu in the Red Sea on Monday. 

Meanwhile somebody droned two gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta on The Med on Wednesday, clearly meant to signal that the Suez option's days may be numbered.

The oil business is a confidence game, and the authorities have a vested interest in maintaining it to prevent public panic.

Gasoline is now $4.49/gallon where I live. 

Middle East tanker transits July 21-27, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 1.1/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 9.9/day

Vessels evidently are running dark to avoid being targeted by the Houthis.  

JMIC Update 077:

... Open-source data tracking Bab el Mandeb transits with AIS-on decreased from an approximate daily average of 50 vessels to 20 since July 24th. Coalition naval units are present in the area. ...

Middle East tanker transits July 19-25, 2026: Strait of Hormuz down to 1.6/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait down to 12.7/day

Normal (2022) Strait of Hormuz tanker transits is at least 70/day, Bab-el-Mandeb 30/day.

Combined Cargo and Tankers UKMTO JMIC Update 076

Middle East tanker transits July 16-22, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 2.0/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 14.6/day

BAM transits fell in JMIC Update 075 to 10.0/day since the Houthi Rebels announced on July 20 a blockade of Saudi shipping through the chokepoint. SE traffic fell to 4.0/day.

A product tanker is at anchor in the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia after it was attacked by the Houthis on July 22.

Professional observers report some tankers abandoning their runs SE and turning back NW while Chinese VLCCs apparently are being green-lighted through despite loading with Saudi oil at Yanbu. 

VLCCs fully laden cannot transit the Suez Canal due to size constraints and must partially off-load before transiting and then re-load on the Mediterranean side of the canal.

 

Middle East tanker transits July 14-20, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 3.4/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 17.3/day

 From JMIC Update 074:

... According to regional reporting, Iran has instructed the Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route should the United States strike Iranian power infrastructure. Sources close to the group stated that the Houthis have completed preparations to attack shipping, including the deployment of missiles and drones positioned near Bab el-Mandeb. ...

Middle East tanker transits per JMIC update 073 July 12-18, 2026: Strait of Hormuz 3.3/day, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 18.0/day