Operation Epic Fury began on February 28 and has since pushed the global maritime system into a new phase of sustained disruption. The disruption is no longer limited to isolated vessel attacks or temporary route changes. It now spans chokepoints, oil exports, LNG, bunkering, container rotations, port systems, and sanctions-linked oil flows.

The Strait of Hormuz remains the clearest measure of that shift. Before February 28, it averaged 120 transits per day in both directions. Since the start of the war, that number has fallen to just 6.9. This is not based solely on AIS data — Remote Sensing Intelligence confirms an 84.4% reduction in large vessels physically present in the corridor, from 96 vessels on January 17 at 07:02 UTC to 15 on March 13 at the same hour.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most consequential energy chokepoints, carrying roughly 20% of global energy flows, including petroleum liquids and LNG. What has emerged since the start of the conflict is not a corridor under stress, but a tightly constrained system in which most of the global fleet has physically vacated the area, while the marginal volume still moving is increasingly dark, selective, and politically conditioned.

The Arabian Gulf Operational Overview

The Arabian Gulf is still active, but it is no longer operating normally. As of March 19, Windward identified 1,290 foreign-flagged cargo and tanker vessels inside the Gulf. Activity is now heavily concentrated along the western coast,…