Oil Tankers

A popular US news podcast claims that satellite imagery shows the US Navy has successfully conducted underwater dredging in Omani waters, enabling a new transit route that makes it difficult for the Iranians to target shipping. The claim aligns with reports in the Axios news agency that Washington has managed to gain superiority in the strait.

Following the attack on UAE oil tankers and the deadlock in talks between Washington and Tehran, there has been a sharp drop in cargo ship traffic in the strategic strait. Tracking data indicates a significant decline in the number of ships passing through the critical trade route, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas traffic passes.