A few hours before the United States began a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, two ships linked to Iran passed through the strait and exited the Persian Gulf, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 13th (local time).
According to vessel-tracking firm Kpler, at least two ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz just before the blockade have a history of transaction with Iran. One is the Panama-flagged Aurora, which is believed to be carrying Iranian naphtha. The ship is under sanctions and has previously transported Iranian cargo. Another ship, New Future, is registered in the Marshall Islands and exited the strait carrying gas oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This vessel also appears to have conducted transaction with Iran three times recently.
Alexis Ellender, a researcher at Kpler, said, "Even right before the blockade took effect, a very small number of ships passed through the strait," but noted that "major shipping companies are avoiding the route rather than taking risks."
In fact, traffic through the strait had plunged even before the blockade. The number of ships that traveled the route, which averaged more than 120 a day before the Iran war, dropped to 28 in the two days leading up to the blockade. Movements of ships attempting to enter the strait and then turning back, or trying to exit in the opposite direction, were also captured one after another.
At 10 a.m. on the 13th Eastern time (11 p.m. on the 13th Korea time), the United States officially began a maritime blockade against Iran centered on the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is a key chokepoint through which about 20%–30% of the world's seaborne crude oil and gas volumes pass.
The move is seen as a form of "reverse blockade" aimed at blocking Iran's crude oil exports and the inflow of military supplies from outside, in response to Iran's continued control of the strait even after a two-week truce agreement.