Ferries Keep Crossing the Strait of Hormuz as War Continues

Ferry crossings in the Strait of Hormuz have not stopped since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February 2026, though fewer people are travelling and the journey has become more dangerous, according to a Guardian feature published on 21 October. The strait is a narrow waterway, and the feature follows daily life there from a ferry leaving the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.

The crossing from Haqqani Port to Hormuz Island takes about half an hour and costs 340,000 toman, roughly £1. The ferry's captain, Farouq, is 39 and has been a captain for 18 years. He regards the strait as his second home.

The war has also reached the boats and docks themselves. Captain Farouq's ferry was damaged by shrapnel while docked at Bandar Abbas, and it was quickly repaired. Iranian government sources say attacks on the port of Bandar Abbas have damaged 760 fishing and commercial vessels.

Fishers in the city say their work has changed. Anvar Sadat, a 38-year-old fisher at the Bandar Abbas fish market, says business has slowed and that several of his colleagues in the city have been killed in attacks. Fishers say they can no longer go as far out to sea as they once did. Abdul Salam, a 45-year-old garbage collector, stopped working almost entirely during the height of the war to avoid attacks near the port beaches. Many residents left Bandar Abbas in the early months of the war for smaller villages.

Hormuz Island, which the feature describes as a "hippy paradise", has drawn artists and creative people from bigger Iranian cities looking for calm.

The wider picture at sea is more contested. Al Jazeera reported on 17 October that both the United States and Iran claim control of the strait, and that dozens of ships had been attacked in or near it in October as the two sides compete to assert authority. On the same day, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said two oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines, explosives set in the water. Earlier in the month, Reuters reported, citing sources, that attacks on tankers in the week to early October were the highest of any week since the war began. Reuters also reported that at least 12 attacks had been reported against oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers trying to cross the strait in the first week of October.

Diplomacy is moving slowly. Reuters reported on 20 October that Iran was prolonging talks in a stalemate in order to influence the US midterm elections, and described the strait as effectively closed by Iran since the war began.