Is the Strait of Hormuz truly becoming the "Strait of Irrelevance"? In this episode, Sal Mercogliano breaks down recent comments from the Secretary of the Treasury regarding the future of Persian Gulf shipping and explains why the reality on the water tells a very different story.

⚓The "Irrelevance" Argument: Analyzing the claim that underground pipelines will soon replace 50-70% of the energy moving through the Strait.

⚓The Pipeline Problem: Why moving oil is easy, but moving LNG, LPG, and bulk fertilizer requires ships that pipelines simply can't replace.

⚓Traffic by the Numbers: A deep dive into the latest UKMTO reports showing a 90% drop in AIS-detected transits since the conflict began.

⚓The US "Dark Fleet": How the United States and its allies are using covert ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman to bypass the blockade.

⚓Geopolitical Stakes: The dangerous precedent of allowing a nation to control a maritime choke point and what it means for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

⚓The Multi-Dimensional Threat: Connecting the dots between Iranian actions in Hormuz, Houthi activity in the Red Sea, and the rise of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

Contact What's Going on With Shipping via:

Patreon: www.patreon.com/wgowshipping

Twitter: @mercoglianos

Bluesky: @mercoglianos.bsky.social

Facebook: @wgowshipping

Email: mercoglianosal@gmail.com

00:00 Introduction: Responding to Secretary Besson

01:45 The "Irrelevance" Argument: Pipelines vs. Reality

02:45 Beyond Oil: Fertilizers and Global Trade Commodities

04:48 Quantitative Data: UK MTO Reporting Overview

08:10 Key Insights: Risk Avoidance and Vessel Mobility

09:16 Incident Timeline: From Conflict Onset to Present

10:40 Tracking the Fleet: Satellite Data vs. AIS

14:38 The Rise of "Digital Darkness" and Dark Fleets

18:12 Global Oil Flows: Shifts to the Suez Canal

20:21 International Law and the Future of the Strait

UKMTO Weekly Voluntary Reporting Area

https://www.ukmto.org/ukmto-products/weekly-reports

UNCTAD: Strait of Hormuz Disruptions

https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/osgttinf2026d1_en.pdf

Washington Institute Maritime Attacks in the MENA Region

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/menamaritime/

Tanker Trackers

https://x.com/TankerTrackers

Laman

https://x.com/LVision_Trading

Rory Johnson

https://x.com/Rory_Johnston