Hormuz Traffic at Standstill as US Vessel Seizure Widens Risk

By Weilun Soon

Apr 20, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a virtual standstill on Monday after a brief and confused reopening over the weekend ended with the first US seizure of an Iranian vessel — underscoring just how difficult it will be to restore activity in the vital strait.

Transits through the waterway have reduced to a trickle over seven weeks of war in the Persian Gulf, as Iran tightens control in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes. On Friday, that paralysis appeared to be at an end as Iran and the US announced a