Merchant Ships Desert Strait of Hormuz Amid Renewed US Strikes

By Prejula Prem and Julian Lee

May 28, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appeared all but deserted on Thursday as commercial operators remain wary of renewed military escalation.

No commercial vessels were spotted transiting the waterway Thursday morning as tensions spiked following a second round of US strikes against Iranian military targets this week. The halt follows a sluggish Wednesday, which saw just six two-way crossings, including a Turkish Suezmax entering to load cargo in the Persian Gulf, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Iran claimed that several ships attempted unauthorized entry into the