Hormuz Oil Shipments Hit Six-Month High Amid Escalating Conflict

Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have reached their highest level in six months, according to Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command. In a video message on Saturday, Cooper stated that the strait's primary transit lanes are clear of mines and that Persian Gulf allies have shipped more than 1 billion barrels of crude through it 'in the last couple of months.' The efforts by the US, along with its allies, insurers, and shipping companies, to increase the flow through the strait are 'paying off,' Cooper said.

The comments follow a growing global squeeze on oil and petroleum products since the summer, sparked in part by drone attacks linked to the Iran war that halted a Saudi Arabian pipeline bypassing the strait. Iran maintains it has closed the strait, while regional negotiations on agreed shipping routes have faltered.

Saudi Arabian authorities issued two early-morning air raid alerts for Riyadh on Saturday, the first in the capital since the height of the US-Iran war in March and April. Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for airstrikes that hit jet fuel facilities at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The US State Department warned Americans of potential flight cancellations and airspace closures, suggesting they reconsider travel to the region due to the escalating conflict between Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia. President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly cited the volume of tanker traffic through the strait in recent weeks, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stating that markets will need to continue relying on transit estimated at 10 million barrels a day of crude and oil products through the Strait of Hormuz.