US Central Command said US forces had, as of October 31, redirected 144 commercial vessels sailing to or from Iranian ports since the naval blockade resumed on July 14, Interfax reported. CENTCOM said more than 3,000 commercial vessels, more than 95 percent of all transits, passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past six months despite Revolutionary Guard threats and attacks, and that US forces have helped Gulf partners export more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil since the summer. In the earlier blockade phase, from April 13 to June 18, CENTCOM redirected 142 vessels, disabled nine that did not comply and let more than 50 humanitarian aid vessels through, so the current phase has now matched that phase’s redirected total.
CENTCOM says 144 vessels redirected in Iran blockade
US Central Command said that as of October 31 its forces had redirected 144 commercial vessels under the naval blockade of Iranian ports resumed on July 14, while more than 3,000 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past six months.
Why it matters: The tally puts a cumulative number on the enforcement that is rerouting Gulf oil flows, and it lands while Brent trades near 118 dollars on Hormuz risk and Korean crude cargoes detour around Africa.
Data as of US Central Command statement as reported by Interfax on November 1, 2026, in Russian, read in full in this run via the live browser. Every figure is CENTCOM's own; no independent count of the redirected vessels exists, and the item is single-chain sourced, so it ships at grade C. CENTCOM was logged to SOURCES-TO-IMPLEMENT.md on 2026-10-31 as an uncovered primary source. Developing item.
Sources
- US Navy has intercepted 144 merchant vessels since the resumption of the Iran blockade - Interfax, in Russian, reporting US Central Command - 2026-11-01