Oil keeps flowing through Strait of Hormuz despite Iran saying it’s shut in International Shipping News 23/06/2026 Millions of barrels of oil continued to flow through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend even after Iran claimed to have closed the waterway again, as Washington and Tehran offer contrasting narratives over the status of the world’s most important shipping chokepoint. Five laden oil supertankers with a combined transport capacity of 8 million barrels could be seen entering or traveling inside the strait on Saturday and Sunday via a route that hugs Oman’s coast, before going “dark.” One of them subsequently resumed sending automated signals early on Sunday after it had reached the Gulf of Oman. If all the tankers sail through, their movements would support the US military’s assertion that it can successfully defend the southern route near Oman’s coast, despite Iran claiming broad control over the waterway and insisting its northern corridor is the only permitted route. A handful of vessels were also seen entering the Persian Gulf using the southern route. US Central Command said on Saturday that 17 million barrels had passed through Hormuz, despite the reports in Iran’s media that the strait was closed. A liaison between navies and shipping said early Saturday that vessels could transit on the Omani side at any time of day while making their locations visible, in a notice issued before Iran said Hormuz was shut. As Iran and the US jostle to control the narrative around Hormuz, and as the two sides began talks in Switzerland on a peace deal, shippers, traders and producers are left trying to assess whether it’s safe to transit the strait. Omani Route The Gulf Sunrise, hauling about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude to Japan is now crossing the Gulf of Oman, its automated tracking signals show, after vanishing from screens near the apex of the strait on Saturday. The Angola B, loaded with Emirati crude, was last seen rounding the tip of the Musandam peninsula