WANA (Sep 01) – Amid conflicting statements from U.S. officials regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, vessel-tracking data shows that only five ships transited the strategic waterway on Monday.

 

Preliminary tracking data released Tuesday indicates that transit numbers through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely unchanged on Monday compared to Saturday and Sunday, holding steady at around five vessels. This figure falls well below the 10-day average of approximately 14 ships.

 

The documented decline in traffic comes despite claims by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night, who described conditions in the Strait of Hormuz as “good” and asserted that an average of 30 vessels pass through the waterway each night.

 

According to data from energy intelligence firm Kpler, four of the five vessels entered the strait while one exited. Ships transiting the area with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders switched off were not captured in these figures.

 

Senior maritime analysts pointed out that while “dark” ships—those operating with AIS transponders turned off—accounted for 65.2% of transit volume in June, total vessel movements still fall far short of the claimed 30 ships per night, even when accounting for un-tracked vessels. Data further reveals that no liquid fuel tankers crossed the waterway on Monday.

 

Among the inbound vessels was a small, empty gas carrier entering via the Iranian route, alongside three loaded dry bulk carriers.