\nUS navy would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. The US president\u2019s move seeks to put pressure on Tehran by targeting two economic drivers \u2014 the huge tolls it demands ships pay to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and its oil revenue.<\/p>\n
On Monday (April 13), the US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces began implementing the blockade of maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports at 10 am ET (14:00 GMT), in line with Trump\u2019s presidential order.<\/p>\n
Centcom said the blockade would apply to \u201cvessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US military hasn\u2019t shared more details about the methods it would use to blockade the Strait, with experts suggesting that the most likely option is that the US navy will try to force vessels to change course through threats, and if that doesn\u2019t work, they will launch armed boarding parties to take physical control of the ships.<\/p>\n
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz. ReutersUS assessment of Day 1 of Hormuz blockade<\/p>\n
After the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz came into effect, Centcom claimed early success, saying that during the first 24 hours of the blockade, no ships had passed through the vital waterway.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade, and six merchant vessels complied with the direction from US. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,\u201d wrote Centcom on X. The command added that the blockade is being applied \u201cimpartially\u201d to vessels of all nations entering or leaving Iranian ports, while insisting that freedom of navigation continues for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian destinations.<\/p>\n
More than 10,000 U.S. Sailors, Marines, and Airmen along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports. During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/dpWAAknzQp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 14, 2026<\/a>STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Centcom added that the While the US may be touting success with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, independent trackers tell a different story.<\/p>\n According to MarineTraffic, four vessels linked to Iran crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite the start of a US naval blockade. However, two of those vessels appear to have reversed course.<\/p>\n According to the ship-tracking data, the US-sanctioned tanker Rich Starry, which is Chinese-owned and Malawi-flagged, sailed from Sharjah in the UAE through the Strait of Hormuz but has since changed direction. Kpler said that the vessel was carrying 31,500 tonnes of methanol and was headed to Sohar in Oman.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n News agency AFP reported that the tanker turned around while in the Gulf of Oman around 1100 GMT on Tuesday and headed back up towards the strait, its destination unknown.<\/p>\n Another ship that sailed through the Strait was Christianna, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier. It exited the Persian Gulf through the Strait on Monday night, after leaving the Iranian port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini, Kpler said. It said the ship was not carrying any cargo. According to the BBC, this vessel has also turned back.<\/p>\n Elpis, a methanol carrier, traversed the strait roughly around the time that the US blockade began, according to ship-tracking data. Kpler said that the vessel had been at the Iranian port of Bushehr. The United States had placed sanctions on the ship last year under an earlier name, Chamtang, over its connections to the Iranian oil trade.<\/p>\n The BBC also reported that two Iranian-flagged ships had left Iran\u2019s Chahbahar port, which is east of the Strait of Hormuz on Iran\u2019s southern coast, after the start of the blockade. The vessels, Ashkan3 and Shabdis, have both travelled more than 500 km out of Iranian waters.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Ship tracking data reveals movements of several other vessels in and around the Strait over the last two days. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, over 20 commercial vessels have transited through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n This clearly raises questions about the efficacy of Trump\u2019s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and whether it\u2019s really serving its purpose of pressuring Tehran to end this war.<\/p>\n Passage of ships through Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has weaponised the According to ship-tracking data from Kpler, 279 ships are known to have transited the strait between February 28 and April 12, far below the pre-war average of about 100 per day. A ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect on April 8. However, only 45 ships have entered or exited the strait since then.<\/p>\n Hundreds of tankers \u200cand other ships have been stranded in the Gulf since the war on Iran began, cutting global oil and gas supply by 20 per cent in the world\u2019s biggest-ever fuel supply disruption.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n First Published: Home<\/a>Explainers<\/a>How many ships have passed the Strait of Hormuz after US blockade? Depends on whom you askEnd of Article
\nUS blockade is being executed<\/a> with the help of \u201cmore than 10,000 sailors, Marines, and airmen, along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft\u201d.<\/p>\nIranians hold national flags beneath a large billboard reading \u201cThe Strait of Hormuz remains closed\u201d as people gather in Tehran\u2019s Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026. AFPTrackers tell a different story<\/p>\n
\nStrait of Hormuz<\/a> \u2014 the waterway through which 20 per cent of the world\u2019s oil and gas passes. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted by more than 95 per cent since the start of the war.<\/p>\n
\nApril 15, 2026, 09:09 IST<\/p>\n