Todays updates for the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandab Strait, all ports and anchorages in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman..........plus Dutch minesweeper being prepared to sail, South Korea identifies missile parts inside HMM Namu and three ships go dark and pass through the Strait of Hormuz
Dutch minesweeper, HNLMS Vlissingen, is being prepared for deployment to the Strait of Hormuz once the peace agreement and hostilities end. The Dutch...along with many NATO and non NATO Navies...are preparing ships, equipment and personnel for any form of multinational force to ensure safe passage for all ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Currently the various Navies are looking to gather in mid June or when the situation calms down and is safe
The Netherlands will send a minesweeper to the Mediterranean Sea as part of NATO operations to allow a possible rapid deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, should a mission there be agreed once the Iran war ends, ministers said on Wednesday in a letter to parliament.
The minesweeper, departing this week, will be able to contribute to the NATO standing mine countermeasures group from mid-June, the letter from defence minister Dilan Yesligoz and foreign minister Tom Berendsen said.
More on this :
Netherlands readies minesweeper for potential post-war Strait of Hormuz role (Baird Maritime - May 27, 2026)
The South Koreans are said to have identified fragments of an Iranian anti ship missile within the damaged HMM Namu on May 4, 2026. The ship is currently undergoing inspection and repairs in Dubai.
The Namu (38,314 dwt) was struck on May 4 while it was anchored off the UAE port of Umm Al Quwain. There were 24 crewmembers who were not injured, but there was a fire in the engine room and a hole in the hull above the waterline. The statement describes the hole as measuring approximately 16.5 feet by 23 feet and shows clear indications of an external explosion. The ship was taken to Dubai for inspection and repairs.
South Korean officials said on Wednesday, May 27, that they have analyzed the pieces recovered by a team sent to Dubai to examine the ship. They found the engine from the missile, a warhead, explosives, and the airframe. The First Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Park Yoon-joo, told the audience that they believe it was an anti-ship missile from the Nour series developed in Iran.
More on this :
https://maritime-executive.com/article/south-korea-identifies-iranian-missile-components-from-attack-on-hmm-ship (Maritime Executive - May 27, 2026)
Three ships have managed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz without their AIS transponders turned on. VLCC Eagle Veracruz carrying 2 million barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia is heading to China, VLCC Nissos Keros carrying 1.8 million barrels of oil from UAE to India and LNG tanker in ballast, Umm Al Ashtan, has sailed from the Persian Gulf side of UAE to the Gulf of Oman side
Two supertankers and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker exited the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week with their transponders switched off, and are heading for India and China, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.
The vessels joined a number of tankers leaving the Gulf this month, although oil and LNG traffic overall has still been limited.
More on this :
Three oil, LNG tankers exit Hormuz with transponders off (Arab News Saudi Arabia - May 28, 2026)
Onto the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandab Strait
The Strait of Hormuz is quiet this morning, at time of writitng there were no reported incidents. As the above shows, ships are making their escape in AIS darkness...a very risky move since it means more pairs of human eyes having to keep watch for other ships which can be difficult, especially at night since as well as being AIS dark, they will be turning off all external lighting apart from basic navigation lights
The Bab-el-Mandab Strait is running normally, again no reported incidents as yet today
The Persian Gulf ports and anchorages are all congested again this morning. Kuwaiti anchorages have thinned out due to ongoing attacks at various locations including a US facility. The rest of the area from Umm Qasr to Doha / Das Island is very busy and the Iranian herders are still pushing ships into tighter spaces
There is a little more visible activity in the ports and anchrages from Mina Saqr to Jebel Ali, again it does seem that much of the shipping has gone AIS dark. Not many Iranian herders around either, they too can also go AIS dark
On the other side of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman.....the ports of Dibba, Khor Fakkan and Fujairah are busy. Their associated anchorages are very congested and with several Iranian herders in and around the ships. Further south on the Al Widyyat, Liwa and Sohar anchorages, its much the same situation. Muscat has become exceptionally busy, the port of Muscat is not very big compared to many other ports in the region
No updates as yet regarding CMA CGM San Antonio crew who were injured during the ill-fated Project Freedom.
Thats it for today.....more tomorrow