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Strait of Hormuz Ship Transits in 2020 — Monthly Totals and Records

Overview

Daily commercial ship transits of the Strait of Hormuz during 2020, month by month: total traffic, its quietest and busiest stretches, and the incidents that moved it.

All years compared →

2020
24,940
vs 2019
+9%
Peak day
11027 Sep
Daily average
68.1

2020 Month by Month

Transits per month
January 2020 — 1,839 transits 1,839 Jan February 2020 — 1,677 transits 1,677 March 2020 — 1,579 transits 1,579 Mar April 2020 — 1,942 transits 1,942 May 2020 — 2,262 transits 2,262 May June 2020 — 2,471 transits 2,471 July 2020 — 2,447 transits 2,447 Jul August 2020 — 2,427 transits 2,427 September 2020 — 2,539 transits 2,539 Sep October 2020 — 2,382 transits 2,382 November 2020 — 1,774 transits 1,774 Nov December 2020 — 1,601 transits 1,601
Monthly breakdown
Month Total Daily avg Peak day
January 1,839 59.3 74 · 1 Jan
February 1,677 57.8 85 · 17 Feb
March 1,579 50.9 76 · 2 Mar
April 1,942 64.7 83 · 5 Apr
May 2,262 73.0 95 · 14 May
June 2,471 82.4 99 · 29 Jun
July 2,447 78.9 102 · 7 Jul
August 2,427 78.3 94 · 18 Aug
September 2,539 84.6 110 · 27 Sep
October 2,382 76.8 107 · 3 Oct
November 1,774 59.1 91 · 11 Nov
December 1,601 51.6 78 · 2 Dec
24,940 transits recorded over 366 reported days

Busiest Days of 2020

Top 10 days
Date Transits Context
27 September 110
3 October 107
21 September 104
8 October 104
7 July 102
7 September 101
6 October 100
29 June 99
7 October 98
19 June 97
For this series incidents suppress activity rather than drive it — the busiest days mark calm periods, so no incident context is implied.

Reading the Numbers

2020 recorded 24,940 transits, an average of 68.1 per day. That is 9% above the 22,825 recorded in 2019.

Among the 7 complete years on record, 2020 ranks as the 6th-busiest.

The busiest month was September with 2,539 transits.

The quietest month was March with 1,579 transits.

The peak day of the year — 110 transits on September 27 — compares with the year's daily average of 68.1. Activity was reported on 366 of the 366 days covered (100%).

Frequently Asked Questions

How many commercial ship transits of the Strait of Hormuz were recorded in 2020?

24,940 transits were recorded over the course of 2020, an average of 68.1 per day.

What was the busiest day of 2020?

The peak was 110 transits on September 27, 2020.

How does 2020 compare with 2019?

2020's total of 24,940 is 9% higher than the 22,825 recorded in 2019.

Transit figures are AIS-derived estimates published by IMF PortWatch, typically weekly with a lag of about ten days — the newest days may not yet appear, and published days are occasionally revised. Counts cover commercial vessels only; ships sailing with transponders off are invisible to the series. Incidents from public news reports. Sources: Kpler; UN Global Platform; IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org).
Sources: IMF PortWatch · Kpler · UN Global Platform · UK Maritime Trade Operations