Despite a ceasefire, only seven vessels have passed through Hormuz since Trump's announcement, with 580 ships still waiting in the Gulf.
On Sunday, June 14, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Iran and declared the 'opening' of the Strait of Hormuz. He concluded his social media post with the words, 'Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!'
However, an analysis based on MarineTraffic ship tracking data by the BBC verification service Verify reveals that only seven vessels have passed through the critical waterway since the announcement, while approximately 580 ships are waiting in the Gulf.
Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply is normally transported, following U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28.
Experts state that there are significant barriers preventing traffic from returning to pre-conflict levels: security, mines, and transit fees.
On Tuesday, MarineTraffic data indicated that there were over 250 tankers and more than 330 cargo ships in the Gulf. According to the data, approximately 75% of the tankers are stationary.
Satellite imagery shows that many of these vessels are clustered near major oil export terminals in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The total number of ships in the region is likely higher, as many vessels do not broadcast their location and do not appear in MarineTraffic data.
Naveen Das, a senior oil analyst at commercial data analytics firm Kpler, stated, 'When traffic begins to increase through the Strait, the first thing we will likely see is the exit of ships that are currently stranded in the Gulf.'
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
