What is causing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to nearly halt, how did the alleged Iranian attacks on three Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tankers and a strike on a Saudi Aramco refinery affect maritime traffic and oil prices, what do Kpler’s figures show about recent vess

Shipping is nearly at a halt because the U.S.–Iran conflict has made passage commercially and physically unsafe: reported attacks on tankers, a U.S. naval blockade of Iran-related shipping, and stalled negotiations have led owners and insurers to hold vessels back or use riskier routes. The immediate trigger was the reported attack on three ADNOC-linked tankers—attributed by the UAE to Iran—alongside a strike on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, which reinforced fears of wider energy-supply disruption. ADNOC has separately said missile and drone attacks on its vessels have significantly affected operations.

• Traffic collapse: Kpler recorded five commodity-vessel transits on Saturday and none registered for Sunday, versus 31 over the preceding weekend. The limited Saturday movements included an empty VLCC with AIS switched off and an Indian-flagged very-large gas carrier following the Iranian routing scheme—evidence that the few voyages continuing are taking exceptional precautions or routes.

• What this means: AIS silence makes real-time tracking incomplete, so “none registered” is not proof that absolutely no ships crossed; it does show that observable commercial traffic has fallen to an exceptionally low level. Earlier reporting also documented vessels stopping or turning back amid attacks and the blockade.

• Oil-market response: The disruption and refinery strike helped drive last week’s rally—on August 9, Brent settled up about 5% at $87.72 per barrel and WTI rose about 5.1% to $82.13. But prices were little changed afterward, suggesting traders had already priced in much of the immediate risk or expected some flows and supplies to continue. This does not eliminate the danger of a further spike if the closure lasts or attacks expand.