Geopolitics · Thursday, 17 September 2026
US claims on Strait of Hormuz traffic contradicted by ship-tracking data as oil tops $107
Brent crude rose to $107.82 a barrel, near a four-month high, after an unidentified projectile struck an Iranian vessel near Hengam Island and a drone attack damaged Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which normally carries oil around the strait. The US energy secretary said flows through Hormuz were back to two-thirds of their pre-war level, but shipping data showed vessel transits in the single digits over the weekend, against a pre-conflict daily average of more than 100. War-risk insurance for ships transiting the strait has climbed to 3 to 10 percent of a vessel's hull value, up from 0.25 percent before the conflict.