Ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz right now
How many ships are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz? Right now 720 commercial ships are visible on AIS in and around the strait, and 596 of them are stationary. 485 are waiting on the Gulf of Oman side of the strait and 110 on the Persian Gulf side.
How many ships are waiting near the Strait of Hormuz
Live map →Commercial ships are cargo ships and tankers of 80 m or more. A ship counts as waiting when it is below 1 knot and has reported a position in the last six hours. Not every stationary ship is stranded: some are loading, discharging or refuelling. Counts are AIS-visible only, so ships with their transponders off are missed.
How long ships have been waiting
Gulf ports →We start a clock when a commercial ship stops (below 1 knot) and reset it when the ship gets under way or shifts more than 3 km. Tracking began on 19 October 2026, so a wait that started before then is shown as "at least".
By anchorage
| Area | Waiting | Median wait |
|---|---|---|
| Elsewhere in the region | 260 | 22 h |
| Fujairah anchorage | 174 | 11 h |
| Sohar | 60 | 2.6 days |
| Khor Fakkan | 45 | 10 h |
| Sharjah / Ajman | 20 | 4 h |
| Dubai / Jebel Ali | 14 | 30 h |
| Abu Dhabi | 12 | 3 h |
| Ras al Khaimah | 6 | 8 h |
| Gulf of Oman (offshore) | 4 | 4.8 days |
| Bandar Abbas | 1 | 19 h |
How long they have waited
596 stationary commercial ships, 33.8m t deadweight in all. Deadweight is the most a ship can carry, not the cargo on board.
The longest waits right now
| Ship | Area | Waiting |
|---|---|---|
| COOKIESmall · 91 m | Elsewhere in the regionPersian Gulf side | at least 27 days |
| POLARSmall · 105 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | at least 27 days |
| GAS CONCORDMR · 180 m | SoharGulf of Oman side | at least 27 days |
| BREEZMR · 182 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | at least 27 days |
| KING CHAINPanamax/LR1 · 228 m | SoharGulf of Oman side | at least 27 days |
| AVA 10Aframax/LR2 · 230 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 26 days |
| M REGINASmall · 100 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 23 days |
| ALIZAMR · 182 m | Fujairah anchorageGulf of Oman side | 20 days |
| ROHISmall · 88 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 19 days |
| ANGELINA181 m | SoharGulf of Oman side | 17 days |
| THEMIRMR · 175 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 15 days |
| TRONEVLCC · 330 m | Gulf of Oman (offshore)Gulf of Oman side | 14 days |
| RAVIEL GASSmall · 159 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 13.9 days |
| LISA GLORY224 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 13.4 days |
| SEA OPERAMR · 224 m | Elsewhere in the regionPersian Gulf side | 13.1 days |
| YELLOW STONESmall · 118 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 12.8 days |
| OCEAN JEWELMR · 182 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 11.1 days |
| OPHELIA ISmall · 137 m | Sharjah / AjmanPersian Gulf side | 10.5 days |
| FALCON130 m | Abu DhabiPersian Gulf side | 9.2 days |
| AN SHUN HAI224 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 8.9 days |
| TB JINJIANG182 m | Elsewhere in the regionPersian Gulf side | 8.6 days |
| OTTOMAN INTEGRITYSuezmax · 269 m | Fujairah anchorageGulf of Oman side | 7.7 days |
| HAO FANMR · 182 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 7.4 days |
| DANDELIONMR · 227 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 6.8 days |
| AUROURAMR · 179 m | Elsewhere in the regionGulf of Oman side | 6.8 days |
The 25 longest waits among commercial ships stationary now. A ship that stops reporting for more than an hour drops out of these figures; after 24 hours without a report, its clock starts again.
Where ships are waiting
Map of the strait →Commercial ships on AIS in and around the Strait of Hormuz now. Select the map to open the live map.
Source: live AIS positions. The map shows the strait and its nearest anchorages; the table below also covers Sohar and Abu Dhabi.
Not every ship here is stuck. Fujairah is a major bunkering (refuelling) hub for Gulf tankers, so some ships anchored there are refuelling rather than waiting to cross (Baird Maritime, 22 Jul 2025). Others are loading or discharging at nearby ports.
The area we track stops short of the upper Gulf. Ports such as Ras Tanura, Mina al Ahmadi, Ras Laffan and Kharg Island are outside it, so the number of ships stuck in the Persian Gulf as a whole is higher than these counts.
"Waiting" counts commercial ships below 1 knot with a position in the last six hours; "Moving" counts those at 1 knot or more. "All vessels" also includes tugs, service boats and other small craft.
| Area | Waiting | Moving |
|---|---|---|
| Fujairah anchorageFujairah is also a major bunkering (refuelling) hub, so some ships here are refuelling rather than waiting. | 174 | 14 |
| Khor Fakkan | 44 | 3 |
| Sohar | 60 | 2 |
| Gulf of Oman (offshore) | 4 | 1 |
| Larak / Qeshm anchorage (Iran)Iranian-designated holding area ("LARAK OPL" in AIS destinations) used under the 2026 permit regime. | 0 | 0 |
| Bandar Abbas | 1 | 1 |
| Ras al Khaimah | 6 | 1 |
| Sharjah / Ajman | 20 | 1 |
| Dubai / Jebel Ali | 14 | 4 |
| Abu Dhabi | 12 | 2 |
Daily peak of ships waiting in each area, last 30 days (oldest first)
| Area | Daily peak waiting |
|---|---|
| Fujairah anchorage | -1, -1, 200, 207, 201, 201, 212, 213, 200, 202, 204, 203, 202, 199, 192, 197, 203, 201, 196, 197, 184, 176, 174, 180, 180, 192, 183, 179, 181, 176 |
| Khor Fakkan | -1, -1, 52, 48, 48, 47, 45, 45, 48, 44, 43, 46, 51, 51, 54, 49, 46, 50, 50, 51, 51, 49, 48, 43, 43, 43, 41, 45, 46, 44 |
| Sohar | -1, -1, 66, 69, 69, 68, 68, 72, 72, 67, 68, 60, 68, 69, 62, 66, 71, 64, 66, 62, 61, 62, 63, 57, 61, 60, 61, 66, 69, 65 |
| Gulf of Oman (offshore) | -1, -1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 7, 9, 8, 6, 6, 6, 4 |
| Larak / Qeshm anchorage (Iran) | -1, -1, 11, 9, 10, 8, 11, 9, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 10, 6, 0, 6, 0 |
| Bandar Abbas | -1, -1, 27, 30, 31, 16, 29, 26, 28, 27, 30, 25, 25, 26, 25, 26, 27, 27, 15, 23, 25, 27, 25, 25, 25, 13, 13, 1, 7, 0 |
| Ras al Khaimah | -1, -1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 9, 10, 7, 7, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 11, 7, 3, 6, 8, 10, 7, 7, 7, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 9 |
| Sharjah / Ajman | -1, -1, 30, 28, 34, 30, 29, 33, 32, 35, 30, 29, 28, 32, 33, 32, 35, 36, 43, 41, 36, 34, 28, 30, 28, 28, 26, 27, 26, 23 |
| Dubai / Jebel Ali | -1, -1, 17, 18, 17, 17, 17, 18, 18, 19, 17, 16, 22, 23, 20, 18, 21, 20, 19, 17, 19, 23, 23, 22, 21, 17, 19, 22, 19, 17 |
| Abu Dhabi | -1, -1, 14, 15, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 17, 16, 14, 14, 15, 16, 13, 15, 14, 13, 11, 14, 13, 14, 14, 12, 13, 12 |
Where they say they're going
Gulf ports →Each ship's AIS transponder carries a destination that the crew types in by hand. It is free text, so the same port can appear as "AEFJR", "FUJAIRAH" or "FUJ OPL", and it can be out of date, wrong, or a message. We decode it into a port or country where we can. Declared destinations of the commercial ships in the region now:
Most common declared destinations
| Declared destination | Ships | Share of ships in the region | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FujairahUnited Arab Emirates | 162 | 22% | |
| SoharOman | 103 | 14% | |
| ShinasOman | 100 | 14% | |
| Khor FakkanUnited Arab Emirates | 95 | 13% | |
| SharjahUnited Arab Emirates | 24 | 3% | |
| HamriyahUnited Arab Emirates | 14 | 2% | |
| Jebel AliUnited Arab Emirates | 14 | 2% | |
| DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | 11 | 2% | |
| United Arab Emirates | 8 | 1% | |
| DibbaUnited Arab Emirates | 7 | 1% | |
| KandlaIndia | 6 | 1% | |
| Khalifa PortUnited Arab Emirates | 6 | 1% | |
| KhasabOman | 5 | 1% | |
| Ras al KhaimahUnited Arab Emirates | 4 | 1% | |
| Bandar AbbasIran | 3 | 0% | |
Share of all 720 commercial ships in the region. Blank, unrecognised and "for orders" entries are not listed. When a ship names only a Gulf country, such as "UAE", we cannot tell which side of the strait it is heading for.
What ships are broadcasting
During the 2026 crisis, some crews have used the AIS destination field to announce something other than a port: most often the nationality of the crew or owners (for example "CHINESE CREW"), or that armed guards are on board, hoping to avoid being targeted. We group the messages we recognise below. The text is shown exactly as broadcast; we cannot verify it.
Crew or owner nationality broadcast · 5 ships
| Ship | Broadcast destination text |
|---|---|
| BBG OCEAN199 m | AE FJR CHINESE OWNER |
| XIN HAI TONG 61189 m | ALL CREW CHINESE |
| XING SHENG189 m | CHINA OWNER & CREW |
| DA TONG YUN166 m | CHINESE OWNER |
| MELONI IISmall · 105 m | IRAQI OWNER IND CREW |
Two other common entries are routine shipping terms rather than messages: 31 ships say they are "for orders" (the next port has not been fixed yet), and 42 say they are waiting outside port limits (OPL) or at anchorage.
Gone quiet: AIS silent 6+ hours
31 commercial ships within 150 km of the strait have not reported a position for more than six hours. An AIS signal can stop because the transponder was switched off, because signals are jammed or spoofed, or because the ship moved out of range of receivers. Silence alone is not evidence of wrongdoing. Windward counted 261 vessels affected by GPS jamming in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman on 12 November (Windward, 14 Nov 2026).
| Ship | To the line | Last position |
|---|---|---|
| BARBADOS PROSPERITYVLCC · 330 m | 146 km | |
| SUNNY HONG181 m | 86.8 km | |
| NEWVOYAGER133 m | 109 km | |
| AL NAHDA190 m | 82.3 km | |
| WEST LOYALTYVLCC · 332 m | 131 km | |
| AZARGOUN207 m | 66.5 km | |
| MARISSmall · 127 m | 100 km | |
| FELICITYPanamax/LR1 · 228 m | 53.1 km | |
| BEHNAVAZ294 m | 62.7 km | |
| ADITYASuezmax · 274 m | 49.0 km | |
| MAHNAM224 m | 65.3 km | |
| HASNAVLCC · 333 m | 47.1 km | |
| ARTAVAND224 m | 56.7 km | |
| GOLBON221 m | 68.0 km | |
| GOLDEN ES176 m | 104 km | |
| LITUSPanamax/LR1 · 228 m | 119 km | |
| ARTARIA224 m | 51.4 km | |
| JOINVILLE 1Small · 129 m | 75.4 km | |
| DESH MAHIMAAframax/LR2 · 249 m | 127 km | |
| DAHABSuezmax · 274 m | 51.8 km | |
| ELENA 1Small · 118 m | 101 km | |
| VELIXSmall · 101 m | 50.7 km | |
| COBAVLCC · 333 m | 37.6 km | |
| ALTAIR189 m | 70.9 km | |
| DEVREZMR · 183 m | 76.6 km | |
| AMELIASmall · 129 m | 126 km | |
| ZYRA196 m | 105 km | |
| KRONOSSmall · 116 m | 126 km | |
| NORITASmall · 119 m | 114 km | |
| NEPTUNE107 m | 138 km | |
| GREAT WENTAO187 m | 80.1 km |
Ships moving near the strait
Crossings today →Hormuz tanker traffic and other commercial ships moving at 2 knots or more within 60 km of our counting line, from positions in the last two hours, closest first. 1 ship is moving now, none of them tankers. 3 commercial ships have crossed the line so far today (UTC).
| Ship | Speed | Live map |
|---|---|---|
| AYRIN127 m | 6.1 kn | Show AYRIN on map |
Flags and ship types in the region
Flags of ships crossing →Flag of registry
Ship type
Commercial ships in the region now. A flag shows where a ship is registered, not who owns or operates it or where its cargo is going.
Stranded seafarers
Latest updates →The International Maritime Organization said on 28 August that up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers had been unable to leave the Gulf safely since the conflict began (IMO, 28 Aug 2026). Under an IMO evacuation plan, 136 vessels and about 2,900 seafarers were evacuated on 23–26 June; the plan has since been paused (IMO, checked 15 Nov 2026).
Attacks on shipping: 136 confirmed incidents and 25 seafarer deaths (IMO) (IMO, 11 November 2026).
The most recent death confirmed by the IMO followed an attack on the tanker Velos Sapphire in the Gulf north of Qatar in early November (IMO, 6 Nov 2026). The Cape Dao, hit off Musandam on 23 September with one seafarer killed, is now listed as sunk (IMO, 11 Nov 2026).
hormuz.now does not give navigation or security advice. Crews and operators should follow guidance from their flag state, UKMTO and the JMIC.
Live AIS data as of · 1,436 vessels visible in the region. Counts are AIS-visible only and miss ships running dark. How we count.