The Choking Point: How Strait of Hormuz Disruptions Impact Global Maritime Logistics, Law and Policy Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. By Jeffrey H. Lewis, Cozen O’Connor May 28, 2026 Copyright Corona Borealis/AdobeStock Since the Iranian Revolution and overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, the Strait of Hormuz has been a geographic constant as a choke point for which closure has been threatened from time to time but never truly closed.  The longstanding assumption of the continued openness of the strait collapsed on February 28, 2026.    In the weeks since Iran effectively shut the strait to commercial shipping in response to U.S. and Israeli military strikes and the U.S. established its own blockade, the global maritime transportation system has been forced into a rerouting effort of historic proportions.  The consequences have rippled far beyond just oil and gas markets, exposing vulnerabilities in global supply chains and potentially threatening important aspects of the customary international law of the sea that are centuries upon centuries old. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway—a little under 18 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point—that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the wider Arabian Sea. Before the current crisis, roughly 25 percent of the world's seaborne crude oil trade and roughly 20 percent of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) transited the passage daily.  Previously, on an average day well over 100 vessels moved through the strait carrying millions of barrels of oil, vast volumes of LNG, and significant quantities of petrochemicals and fertilizers.  Asian economies—China, India, Japan, and South Korea—received the bulk of the crude oil transiting the strait, making it an arterial lifeline for the world’s most dynamic manufacturing economies. Closure of the strait has made clear an uncomfortable truth: the $123 trillion global economy can be held hostage across a stretch of water ju