Windward Daily Brief March 6: 35 Hormuz Crossings in 4 Days, LPG Exports Fall

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.

The highlights of today's report are as follows:    

• Operation Epic Fury triggered immediate disruption across maritime chokepoints in the Gulf.
• Commercial tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed as strikes, threats, and insurance withdrawal drove operators out of the corridor.
• At least eight commercial vessels have been struck since the start of the conflict across the Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and nearby waters, including a missile incident near Khasab involving a salvage tug.
• More than 1,100 vessels experienced GPS and AIS interference, degrading navigational reliability across the region.
• Cape of Good Hope diversion traffic surged as operators rerouted around Gulf transit routes while Red Sea and Suez activity fluctuated.
• Port disruption indicators began rising across major Gulf hubs, including Jebel Ali and Khalifa.
• Energy markets began showing supply stress as Gulf oil cargo departures dropped sharply and shadow fleet activity continued, including a semi-dark STS transfer by the sanctioned tanker M/V TRUST.
• The maritime conflict expanded geographically after a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka, extending risk into the Indian Ocean and exposing major importers such as India to supply disruption.
• Spoofing activity that was previously more limited around Bandar Abbas and parts of the southwest UAE has expanded and become increasingly concentrated near Fujairah.
• LPG departures from Gulf terminals fell from 824,000 barrels on Feb 28 to zero by March 5.

The full report can be viewed here.