UK-based maritime analytics firm Windward said on the 9th that ongoing exchanges
of fire between the US and Iran have sharply reduced transits through the Strait
of Hormuz, with merchant traffic leaving the Persian Gulf largely halted.
Windward recorded 51 transits on the 7th, including 35 departures; on the 8th
there were 35 transits and 18 departures, only two using the southern
(Oman-side) channel, indicating operators avoided that route after a nighttime
attack; between the night of the 8th and early 9th there were only five
transits, with a single departure from the Gulf.
