| Date | 19 Jul 2019 |
| Tracker | Strait of Hormuz Tensions |
| Type | Interception |
| Location |
Strait of Hormuz
26.18, 56.25 (approximate) |
On July 19, 2019, Iran's IRGC Navy seized the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz using small boats and a helicopter, diverting it to Bandar Abbas. Iran cited alleged maritime violations, including a collision with a fishing boat, but the move was widely read as retaliation for British Royal Marines' July 4 seizure of the Iranian tanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar over suspected sanctions-busting oil shipments to Syria. The tanker's 23 crew members were held aboard through the standoff; London called the seizure 'a hostile act.' The tanker was released after roughly two months.
| Series | That day | Prior 30-day avg | Week after vs before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transits | 70 -18% | 85.8 | -4% (573 → 548) |
| Tankers | 44 -13% | 50.7 | -1% (334 → 330) |
| Cargo ships | 26 -26% | 35.1 | -9% (239 → 218) |
| Date | Type | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2019 | Strike | Limpet mines damage four tankers off Fujairah, UAE, in suspected Iranian sabotage attack |
| 13 Jun 2019 | Strike | Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous tankers set ablaze in Gulf of Oman attacks blamed on Iran |
| 20 Jun 2019 | Interception | Iran shoots down US Navy RQ-4 Global Hawk drone over Strait of Hormuz |
| 4 Jan 2021 | Interception | Iran seizes South Korean tanker Hankuk Chemi near the Strait of Hormuz |
IMF PortWatch data published on GMN's Strait of Hormuz tracker shows commercial ship transits averaging 3.17 a day over 1-6 September 2026, against 85.5 a day in 2025; other counters read higher, but every independent count is a small fraction of the pre-war norm.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on 8 September 2026 it had recovered a US Navy Anduril Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz; US Central Command said the vehicle had malfunctioned more than a day earlier, and Anduril confirmed the loss.
The United States decommissioned its four Bahrain-based Avenger-class mine hunters in September 2025 and shipped the hulls home in January 2026. When Iran began mining the Strait of Hormuz two months later, according to CENTCOM, the Navy had to sail two of its last four minesweepers from Japan.