Nearly 200 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz last week, up from 150 the previous week and about 40 two weeks earlier, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations data reported by the New York Post. The increase coincides with greater use of an Omani route and dark sailing, in which vessels limit public tracking visibility to reduce exposure to Iranian drone attacks and other conflict risks. Oil producers are also using nighttime transits, US military escorts and ship-to-ship transfers to maintain crude deliveries. The Kiku, struck by a drone a month earlier, switched off its AIS transponder near Dubai on July 31, reappeared in the Gulf of Oman on August 1 and later transferred its cargo to the Nave Electron near Fujairah. The strategy shifts war-risk insurance and attack exposure from commercial shipowners to the US government and producers, but increases collision, spill, surveillance and navigation risks. The US Department of Energy estimates that 8 million to 9 million barrels per day continue to pass through the strait, roughly twice the volume suggested by transponder-based data, with about 80% of recent traffic traveling dark along Oman’s coast. Higher traffic could reflect easing tensions or a strategic adjustment by operators; markets will watch Iran and Oman, any verified ceasefire or diplomatic agreement, new incidents, and potential agreements that could affect traffic normalization by September 30. Alternative pipelines, additional production, emergency stockpile releases and weaker demand have helped prevent a sharper price shock, but inventories and refining capacity remain strained.