Economics

The strait gives passage to one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and is a key route for other types of commodities like aluminum, sugar and fertilizer.

The Strait of Hormuz, normally jammed with oil tankers and cargo ships, has been nearly emptied by the war in the Middle East. Ongoing strikes by the U.S. and threats from Iran to fire on ships have made the risks of navigating the vital waterway for the global supply chain no longer worth the rewards.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday had dropped around 90% compared with last week, according to ship tracker MarineTraffic, as oil and gas tankers cluster just outside of the strait.