{"id":667245,"date":"2026-03-19T17:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/667245\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T17:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:22:13","slug":"what-happened-the-last-time-shipping-was-disrupted-in-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/667245\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened the last time shipping was disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The U.S. and Israel\u2019s war with Iran<\/a> has thrust the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> once again into the crosshairs of a geopolitical conflict. <\/p>\n

Nearly all traffic has ground to a halt<\/a> in the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe\u2019s oceans, shutting down a critical path for the world\u2019s flow of oil<\/a>. Attacks on commercial ships<\/a> and threats of further strikes have stopped nearly all tankers from carrying oil, gas and other goods<\/a> through the passage. That\u2019s also led to cuts from some of the world\u2019s largest producers, because their crude has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n

This is hardly the first time the Strait of Hormuz has been weaponized. Ship seizures and past fighting in the region have raised alarm for commercial ships, at times severely disrupting their ability to sail through. Iran has also repeatedly threatened to close the strait in response to sanctions and other tensions over the years, but stopped short of cutting off traffic entirely. Even with the bulk of traffic halted amid the current war, dozens of vessels<\/a> have still managed to cross the waterway, according to maritime and trade data platforms.<\/p>\n

While Iran and Oman both have territory in the Strait of Hormuz, its narrow shipping channels are viewed as international waters<\/a> through which all ships can travel. Still, Tehran holds significant influence over the passage through its nearby military presence and control of key islands<\/a> in the area.<\/p>\n

The latest clash, now in its third week after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran and killed its supreme leader<\/a>, has resulted in major consequences for energy markets<\/a>: Roughly a fifth of the world\u2019s oil traveled through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, and strains on supply have sent fuel prices soaring<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Here are some others instances when traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted or threatened:<\/p>\n

1980s: Iran-Iraq \u2018Tanker War\u2019<\/p>\n

During a deadly, 8-year-long war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s, both sides attacked tankers and other vessels in and nearby the Strait of Hormuz, using naval mines to shut down traffic at points. The U.S. also got involved in the so-called Tanker War \u2014 with the Navy even fighting a one-day battle<\/a> against Iran in 1988, and later shooting down an Iranian commercial airliner that it mistook for a fighter jet, killing 290 people.<\/p>\n

The strait didn\u2019t close completely. And during the war, U.S. ships also escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers to protect them against Iranian attacks. Still, the passageway became incredibly dangerous and shipping was disrupted.<\/p>\n

2011\u20132012: Iran threatens closure during nuclear sanctions<\/p>\n

At the end of 2011 and into 2012, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to<\/a> new sanctions from the West over its nuclear development program. The European Union began enforcing a ban on purchases of Iranian oil \u2014 and the U.S. similarly targeted the country\u2019s energy sector while also barring transactions with Iran\u2019s central bank. That later prompted other countries to buy less Iranian oil.<\/p>\n

But Iran walked back some of those threats, and its government did not end up closing the Strait of Hormuz. Still, the turbulence and shifts in supply brought swings in oil prices. Brent crude \u2014 the international standard \u2014 was trading above $100 in December 2011 and for much 2012, peaking at more than $126 per barrel in March 2012, before cooling some later in the year.<\/p>\n

2018: More closure threats after US withdraws from nuclear accord<\/p>\n

In May 2018, during his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear accord<\/a> with Iran and began to restore sanctions<\/a>. Despite some waivers, Trump vowed to eventually cut off all Iranian oil exports. In response, then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani repeated threats<\/a> to close the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

But again, Iran did not end up closing the strait. And despite some volatility throughout the year, with particular production pressure<\/a> on OPEC producers, Brent ended the year trading at nearly $54 a barrel, down from about $75 a barrel when Trump declared the U.S. would be withdrawing in May 2018.<\/p>\n

2019-2025: Ship seizures and attacks<\/p>\n

The U.S. Navy blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels near the strait that damaged tankers<\/a> in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker<\/a> in 2021. Tehran denied involvement at the time. Regardless, such hostilities strained insurance rates<\/a> and raised fears for shipping companies. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Iran seized a handful of vessels in the waterway, including several foreign oil tankers<\/a> it alleged were carrying smuggled fuel at the end of just last year, per state media. The country also captured a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship<\/a> in 2024 and took two Greek tankers<\/a> and held them for months<\/a> in 2022, among other seizures. The strait nonetheless remained open throughout.<\/p>\n

June 2025: 12-day war between Israel and Iran<\/p>\n

Fears about a possible Strait of Hormuz closure also piled up<\/a> during last year\u2019s 12-day war between Israel and Iran, particularly after the U.S. entered the conflict with bombings<\/a> on three Iranian nuclear and military sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Iran did not close the strait, and oil didn\u2019t see lasting price surges. Despite prices jumping some<\/a> in the early days of the conflict, oil actually saw a notable sell-off<\/a> as traders doubted the likelihood of attacks on crude shipments. By the war\u2019s end, Brent was trading below $67 a barrel, a few dollars less than it was beforehand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The U.S. and Israel\u2019s war with Iran has thrust the Strait of Hormuz once…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":667246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[11744,64,69,8309,57,15120,83,3461,6087,50,930,5503,522,25680,17344,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-667245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-barack-obama","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-energy-markets","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-hassan-rouhani","14":"tag-iran","15":"tag-iran-government","16":"tag-iran-war","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-oceans","19":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","20":"tag-transportation","21":"tag-transportation-and-shipping","22":"tag-waterways","23":"tag-world","24":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116257000382394373","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}