2 Mariners Killed in Strait of Hormuz as Transits See Small Increase

Strait of Hormuz traffic on Aug. 21, 2026. Marine Traffic image Two mariners were killed in the past week and a half in the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian attacks.

On Monday, an Iranian attack on MV Minoan Dignity in the strait left one seafarer dead. It is the second attack on a ship managed by Greek company Modion Maritime Management. On Aug. 3, MV Minoan Pioneer was struck, with the International Maritime Organization reporting one missing seafarer. It is not clear if the seafarer has been recovered.

Two days before the attack on Minoan Dignity, Iran also hit MV Riyan Star in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member.

USNI News has tracked 74 instances where ships have come under attack by both Iranian and U.S. forces since the war began on Feb. 27. Nineteen mariners have died, including in attacks by the U.S., according to the IMO.

While the death toll continues to rise in the Strait of Hormuz, it is the Black Sea that is considered the “most dangerous maritime security situation,” Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of London-based Lloyd’s List, said during a Thursday webinar.

This week, Ukraine hit five grain carriers near Black Sea ports Novorossiysk and Tuapse, according to Lloyd’s List. Between July 1 and Aug. 13, Ukraine hit approximately 220 vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea with drones, according to The Guardian. Russia has upped its attacks on Ukrainian ports, killing at least 26 mariners since July with strikes on commercial vessels.

Transits Rise Over Three Weeks

an Italian military boarding team was deployed by helicopter from ITS Thaon di Revel (P430) to conduct the required inspections on Aug. 2, 2026. Italian Defense Ministry photo Lloyd’s List Intelligence tracked 73 Strait of Hormuz transits over the past week, with 91 between Aug. 3 and 9 and 99 the prior week, Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director with Lloyd’s, said during the Thursday webinar. This week’s numbers will change once ships turn back on their automatic identification systems after they finish transiting, Diakun said.

Tankers and bulkers are driving the increase in transits, Diakun said, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect more confidence among ship owners. It is more likely, she said, that a core group of ship owners understand the situation in the gulf and is adapting to it.

“They’ve sent out their logistics, and they are kind of cracking on, for lack of a better word,” she said. “They’ve committed to the situation, and they’re going to keep going.”

Although the Houthis are creating issues in the Red Sea, especially for Saudi-linked ships, far more tankers passed through the Bab el-Mandeb than Hormuz, risk analyst Mohammed Albasha told USNI News.

Transits have dropped in the Red Sea but they are still within the post-Houthi campaign normals, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The number of transits between Aug. 10 and Sunday held steady from the week before at 252 passages. Between July 27 and Aug. 2, there were 274.

Even at the low end, transits were more than eight times higher in the Red Sea than the Strait of Hormuz.

China, which is a major purchaser of Iranian oil, is also struggling to navigate the Hormuz situation, Albasha said, and two Chinese very large crude carriers have been turned back. There are also supposedly 20 tankers waiting to load up at Iran’s Kharg Island.

“This is no longer only a problem for Western shipping,” Albasha said in an email. “China, the Gulf states and global energy markets are increasingly exposed to what happens in Hormuz. At the same time, it appears the White House wants to increase non-kinetic pressure on Tehran rather than rely only on further military action. Additional sanctions, political pressure, restrictions on Iranian trade and growing pressure on transport links could become an increasingly important part of Washington’s strategy.”

Iran could be willing to place economic hardships on its own people rather than cave to the U.S., he said, making it unclear if an economic strategy will be successful.

Iran and the U.S. are still fighting over who can gain more leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, Chris Newton, senior early warning analyst with International Crisis Group, told USNI News on Friday.

Despite the Iranian attacks on the southern corridor, not all ship owners are not pulling back their vessels, he said. If Iran continues to attack ships in the strait to the point where transit becomes too expensive to be viable, it gains more control.

Despite the Iranian attacks on the southern corridor, ship owners are not pulling back their vessels, he said. If Iran continues to attack ships in the strait to the point where it becomes the potential cost of doing business in the waterway, it gains more control.

On the other hand, if the United Arab Emirates, as well as private sector ships, continue to make shuttle runs, then it weakens the leverage Iran might have, Newton said.

Strait of Hormuz’s Crystal Ball

Strait of Hormuz satellite photo. NASA photo Pre-war transits through the Strait of Hormuz are not likely to come back in the foreseeable future, Campbell University professor Sal Mercogliano told USNI News.

The language exchanged between Iran and the U.S. is also fueling doubt among commercial shippers, he said. Even if a ceasefire goes into place, shipping is likely to be hesitant.

Iran and Oman, which border the Strait of Hormuz, have been negotiating over access and control of the strait.

Although the deal between the two countries has not been announced, President Donald Trump has already indicated to Oman that his administration is not happy with some parts, according to The Associated Press. A deal between Oman and Iran is expected to include joint management of the strait.

That would be a “severe departure” from the strait pre-U.S.-Iran war, Newton said. It is possible that a resolution to the war is not one that the U.S. finds attractive, he said.

“I think we are seeing a steady erosion of U.S. influence,” Newton said. “It is losing control of the situation in the strait and the war overall.”