Iran Declares Maritime Exclusion Zone Near Strait of Hormuz as Tanker Traffic Collapses

Iran's Supreme National Security Council has announced a formal maritime exclusion zone in waters outside the Strait of Hormuz, a step that appeared to formalize the near-total halt to large crude carrier traffic that has persisted since earlier this week.

The announcement, confirmed by Iranian state media on 6 September, designates a restricted area for commercial shipping in the waters east of the strait. Tehran said the zone was a lawful defensive measure; vessels failing to comply with newly issued transit notices would be treated as having entered a conflict area.

MarineRadar vessel tracking data shows transits through the waterway have dropped to two to six commodity vessels per day, compared with more than fifteen per day before the crisis intensified in late August. No large crude carrier has been recorded passing through since Wednesday. Quoin Island, the rocky headland that marks the eastern entrance to the strait, broke out as a new trending search location on the platform over the same 48-hour window, an unusual pattern that mirrors the search surges previously seen when shipping incidents drew global attention to the strait.

The exclusion zone declaration follows US strikes on three Iranian tankers in reprisal for IRGC ballistic-missile strikes on US Navy warships near the strait. Prior to Saturday, transit had already fallen to four vessels a day following Iranian strikes on US military bases in the Gulf.

Oman has signalled it will continue diplomatic efforts to restore safe passage. Talks brokered by Muscat in late August, which proposed banning military vessels while allowing commercial traffic, have stalled following the latest exchange of strikes.

Insurers have begun applying war-risk surcharges to vessels operating in the Gulf of Oman and parts of the Arabian Sea adjacent to the exclusion zone. Major commodity traders have begun routing crude cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope, adding approximately twelve to fourteen days to voyage times from the Gulf to European terminals. Brent crude rose on the news.