Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to roughly 17% of its pre-conflict average over the past week, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency, as attacks on commercial vessels show no sign of slowing and diplomacy over ending the broader U.S.-Iran war remains stalled.

The latest incident came Saturday, when UKMTO said it was notified of a projectile striking the hull of a bulk carrier transiting the strait. It followed an attack Friday night local time on a vessel affiliated with UAE state-oil company ADNOC, which the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry confirmed was hit while passing through the waterway. Neither incident was immediately linked to casualties, but both add to a monthslong pattern of strikes that has scared off the vast majority of commercial traffic.

A chokepoint gone quiet

The numbers illustrate just how dramatically the crisis has reshaped global shipping. Ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic recorded only eight to 15 vessels crossing the strait on several days in early August, compared with roughly 130 daily transits before the conflict began — a decline of nearly 90%. The Strait of Hormuz normally carries close to a fifth of the world's oil and gas trade, and the near-total exodus of tankers has forced insurers, shippers and oil buyers to reroute or absorb steep new risk premiums.

THE US READIES NEW ECONOMIC MEASURES TO FORCE IRAN TO CAPITULATE.

President Trump told Fox News Friday that the administration plans to intensify economic pressure on Iran and said he was not concerned whether the conflict is resolved before November's midterm elections, even though the outcome could hinge on voters' economic anxieties. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Tehran had not decided whether to resume negotiations with Washington, days after Trump suggested the U.S. was "low-keying" talks with Iran.

Winners and losers

The disruption has proven a mixed bag economically. Shipping giants like Maersk have raised earnings guidance as rerouted cargo and tighter capacity push freight rates higher, even as their own operating costs climb from the disruption. But for Gulf economies dependent on oil exports moving through the strait, and for global energy markets bracing for further shocks, the standoff represents a serious and lengthening drag, with no resolution in sight as both sides dig in.

Maritime authorities have urged commercial vessels to avoid the strait where possible and to sail with heightened security precautions when transit is unavoidable. With attacks continuing on both Iranian-linked and Gulf state-affiliated shipping, analysts say the strait is unlikely to see meaningfully higher traffic volumes until there is a genuine diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran.