Is the Strait of Hormuz Open?
As of September 2, 2026 (Day 186), the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted: disrupted — Iran has twice declared the strait closed and traffic is at a near halt (single-digit daily transits vs a ~94 norm), but trackers still confirm reduced flow moving, so the closure is not verified. The June 28 US-Iran stand-down collapsed on July 7, when three commercial tankers were struck in the strait and the US struck Iranian targets in response; traffic is 14/day Jul 29, then "a sharp fall" · no numeric count published since, already down from a pre-crisis norm of about 94 vessels a day. Iran has now formally declared the channel closed; the declaration is disputed, with maritime trackers reporting the route still physically passable. Around 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil moves through this 21-mile chokepoint, so its status moves crude prices worldwide.
What "disrupted" means
Crude Signal rates the strait on a five-step ladder, from the daily news wire, oil prices, and shipping signals rather than a single headline. It is currently Disrupted: A material share of traffic halted by attacks, mining, or sustained closure of part of the channel.
- Open Normal commercial flow, roughly 94 vessels a day, no material war-risk premium.
- Strained Traffic continues but insurers and owners price in elevated risk; some reroute.
- Contested Passable but under threat: a fragile or partial ceasefire, reduced and reversible flow, an armed standoff.
- Disrupted A material share of traffic halted by attacks, mining, or sustained closure of part of the channel. ← now
- Closed No meaningful commercial transit; the chokepoint is shut by blockade, mining, or declared closure.
How the strait reached this point
The crisis began with a blockade on February 28, 2026. Tension escalated into a full closure on June 10, when Iran shut the strait and struck US bases in the Gulf and Brent spiked toward triple digits. A US-Iran memorandum reopened the waterway at a trickle from June 19. That reopening then broke down: between June 26 and 28 a kinetic exchange hit the strait, with US-Iran strikes, two commercial ships struck, and IRGC missiles fired at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. A fragile stand-down took hold on June 28 and held through Khamenei's funeral week, then collapsed on July 7: three commercial tankers were struck in and near the strait, the US struck Iranian air-defense and anti-ship targets in response, Washington revoked Iran's oil-sale waiver, and President Trump declared the truce over. On July 12, after the weekend's heaviest strikes, Iran formally declared the strait closed — a declaration maritime trackers dispute, with the route reported still physically passable. A declared closure without a verified halt is why the verdict is disrupted rather than closed.
What would change the verdict
The formal-closure tripwire fired on July 12: Iran declared the strait shut. The step up to closed now requires the declaration to become physical — a verified halt in transit counts, mining of the channel, or sustained strikes that stop the remaining flow. It eases back toward contested or strained only if transits keep running despite the declaration and a new ceasefire takes hold, letting war-risk insurance unwind toward the ~94 vessels-a-day norm. We track those tripwires live on the Hormuz desk.
Why the Strait of Hormuz matters
About 20 percent of the world's oil and roughly a quarter of seaborne crude pass through a 21-mile chokepoint with no realistic bypass for most Gulf exporters. There is no pipeline network that can absorb the volume if it closes, so any closure or credible threat raises oil prices worldwide. That is why a single waterway off the coast of Iran sets the floor under global energy costs, and why its open-or-closed status is worth watching daily.
Strait of Hormuz: common questions
Is the Strait of Hormuz open today?
As of September 2, 2026, the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted — Iran has twice declared the strait closed and traffic is at a near halt (single-digit daily transits vs a ~94 norm), but trackers still confirm reduced flow moving, so the closure is not verified. On July 12 Iran formally declared the strait closed to shipping, and crossings fell to a single tanker on July 23 (Kpler), the lowest since May 7. The war now sits between a claimed peace and a denied one: President Trump says he cancelled a planned major strike on August 2 at Gulf leaders' urging and that talks are beginning; Iran publicly denies talks are resuming. The last executed strikes were Iran's July 31 hits on US-linked air bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, answering the heaviest US strikes of the war on July 29. The last counted days at the strait ran 12 crossings (July 28) and 14 (July 29, Kpler) — the highest since mid-July but a fraction of the ~94-a-day norm — and no priority tracker has published a numeric count since; UKMTO holds its threat level at CRITICAL with attacks on two tankers reported August 1 and severe GNSS jamming across the waterway. Reduced, contested, nonzero flow on everything verifiable: the verdict holds at disrupted. The tell is transit counts, not statements.
How many ships transit the Strait of Hormuz per day?
The last published counts were 12 crossings on July 28 and 14 on July 29 (Kpler) — the highest since mid-July and a recovery from the July 23 low of a single tanker, against a pre-crisis norm near 94. Since then the record has gone quiet: Kpler described July 30 only as a sharp fall, and as of August 3 no priority tracker has published a numeric Hormuz count for any later day. A Kpler-attributed figure of 9 transits for Sunday August 2 circulates without an accessible primary source, so we do not print it as fact. Some flow runs with transponders off or transfers ship-to-ship off Oman, so AIS-based counts understate true volume. Roughly 20 percent of global oil normally passes through the strait.
How long has the Strait of Hormuz crisis lasted?
Day 186, dating from the blockade that began February 28, 2026.
Why does the Strait of Hormuz affect oil prices?
About 20 percent of the world's oil and a quarter of seaborne crude pass through a 21-mile chokepoint with no realistic bypass for most Gulf exporters, so any closure or threat raises prices worldwide.
Crude Signal (2026). Is the Strait of Hormuz Open? Live status. https://crudesignal.io/is-the-strait-of-hormuz-open?utm_source=citation&utm_medium=reference&utm_campaign=hormuz-open (accessed September 2, 2026).