The U.S. military has helped tankers move more than 660 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May, according to a statement Central Command provided to CNBC this week.
Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, said Thursday that U.S. forces have assisted about 1,300 commercial vessels through the strait over that period, and that “multiple routes remain free and open for commercial transit.”
The new figure builds on earlier military updates. Central Command said on July 29 that U.S. forces had assisted 500 million barrels through Hormuz since May, implying at least 160 million barrels — or more than 7 million barrels per day — have moved through the strait in the past three weeks.
Even so, the volume is still far below pre-war levels, when roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude and refined products passed through Hormuz. The military’s numbers nonetheless suggest substantial oil is still flowing despite Iranian threats and periodic attacks.
Estimates vary widely
Exactly how much oil is transiting the strait each day remains unclear, with U.S. government estimates running higher than those from independent ship-tracking firms.
U.S. officials told Axios on Wednesday that about 10 million barrels per day have exited the strait in recent weeks. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Aug. 11 that the seven-day average had risen to nearly 9 million barrels per day.
Private monitors offer a different picture. Maritime intelligence firm Windward estimates crude oil exports through Hormuz averaged about 5 million barrels per day in July, up from roughly 4 million in June and 1.6 million in May. Windward’s senior maritime intelligence analyst, Michelle Wiese Bockmann, said August exports are expected to increase over July.
“My assessment is that it’s scaling and it’s scaling quickly despite the fact that Iran is placing enormous pressure on maritime security,” Bockmann said. “The Gulf states have got U.S military protection — that’s not a secret,” she added, saying they are “ready to do whatever they can” to boost exports through the strait.
Tracking is complicated by wartime conditions, said Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director at Lloyd’s List. Ships often transit at night, while satellite imagery is typically taken in the morning, she said during a briefing Thursday. “There’s a lot of unknowns.”
Wright has argued that private trackers undercount because some ships move covertly. “In coordination with the U.S. military, the U.S. Department of Energy maintains the best available data related to oil and oil products leaving the Arabian gulf,” he said in a social media post last week.
A contested waterway
The security situation in Hormuz remains fraught. Iran said Tuesday it has closed the strait until the U.S. meets its obligations under the interim peace deal signed June 17, while President Donald Trump has insisted the strait remains open and under U.S. control.
For months, Hormuz has effectively been split into two shipping lanes. The U.S. military escorts vessels on a southern route along Oman’s coast and has imposed a naval blockade against Iranian ports. Tehran, meanwhile, demands that ships use a northern route through its territorial waters or face attack.
“It’s a contested security situation in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, one of the world’s largest shipping trade associations. At its narrowest point the strait is 21 miles wide, and both sides retain the ability to project power across much of it, he noted. “It’s not really possible for either side to completely defend their own interests in the territorial waters of Oman and the territorial waters of Iran.”
At least 17 commercial ships came under attack in and around the strait in July and August, according to the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency. Four sailors died in those attacks and more than a dozen were injured.
Despite the danger, the rewards are steep. Tankers that run the gauntlet earn about $500,000 a day, and seafarers receive double or triple their normal pay for such transits, according to Windward’s Bockmann. “It’s a very intense, serious operation to get the oil out — high risk, high profit,” she said.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/21/strait-hormuz-central-command-centcom-oil-iran-war.html
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