Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes) fell to just seven commodity ships on Thursday, as heightened security risks and deadlocked diplomacy between Washington and Tehran kept commercial operators away. The drop coincides with a broader escalation in the region, including new US sanctions against Iran and the arrival of the USS George Washington carrier strike group to reinforce American naval presence in the Middle East. The disruption to one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints raises concerns about potential supply chain pressures on global oil markets if tensions continue to mount.