Oil & Tankers
Oil & Tankers is a data page on the Global Intelligence desk of Glassbox Auditing. Live tankers coloured by load, idle laden tankers, AIS gaps and Cape of Good Hope crossings, with the chokepoint flow board, oil export ports against their 2019-22 normal, refineries, terminals and the pipelines that bypass Hormuz. About a fifth of the world's oil passes through Hormuz, so tankers waiting or rerouting there tend to move crude and fuel prices worldwide.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- Laden tankers sitting idle: 32, -33 on a week ago — what ships' position broadcasts show, not why (Ships' AIS broadcasts, 7 Nov 2026)
- Tankers in floating storage: 11, -10 on a week ago — what ships' position broadcasts show, not why (Ships' AIS broadcasts, 7 Nov 2026)
- Gibraltar: 262 vessels in 30 minutes, +86% against the usual 141 — vessels the live AIS stream sees at the passage; the usual is the median of its last two weeks (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Tankers broadcasting AIS positions in 30 minutes: 2,283, +37 on a day earlier — what the free receivers pick up, not every tanker at sea (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Danish Straits: 135 vessels in 30 minutes, -3% against the usual 139 — vessels the live AIS stream sees at the passage; the usual is the median of its last two weeks (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Dover Strait: 123 vessels in 30 minutes, -2% against the usual 126 — vessels the live AIS stream sees at the passage; the usual is the median of its last two weeks (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Cape of Good Hope: 112 vessels in 30 minutes, +4% against the usual 108 — vessels the live AIS stream sees at the passage; the usual is the median of its last two weeks (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Bosporus: 39 vessels in 30 minutes, +117% against the usual 18 — vessels the live AIS stream sees at the passage; the usual is the median of its last two weeks (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 8 Nov 2026)
- Tankers rounding the Cape eastbound: 0, -1 on a week ago — what ships' position broadcasts show, not why (Ships' AIS broadcasts, 6 Nov 2026)
- Gibraltar: 109 tankers seen on 7 Nov, -11 on the same day a week earlier — 50 likely laden · 13 likely empty · distinct tankers whose AIS signal the receivers picked up in the passage (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 6 Nov 2026)
- Dover Strait: 108 tankers seen on 7 Nov, +9 on the same day a week earlier — 66 likely laden · 11 likely empty · distinct tankers whose AIS signal the receivers picked up in the passage (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 6 Nov 2026)
- Bosporus: 49 tankers seen on 7 Nov, +12 on the same day a week earlier — 11 likely laden · 16 likely empty · distinct tankers whose AIS signal the receivers picked up in the passage (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 6 Nov 2026)
- Danish Straits: 38 tankers seen on 7 Nov, +10 on the same day a week earlier — 21 likely laden · 7 likely empty · distinct tankers whose AIS signal the receivers picked up in the passage (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 6 Nov 2026)
- Panama: 35 tankers seen on 7 Nov, +34 on the same day a week earlier — 21 likely laden · 1 likely empty · distinct tankers whose AIS signal the receivers picked up in the passage (AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts), 6 Nov 2026)
- Tanker AIS silences: 821, -506 on a week ago — what ships' position broadcasts show, not why (Ships' AIS broadcasts, 5 Nov 2026)
- Tankers rounding the Cape westbound: 2, unchanged on a week ago — what ships' position broadcasts show, not why (Ships' AIS broadcasts, 6 Nov 2026)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from Ships' AIS broadcasts; AISStream (ships' AIS broadcasts). Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Oil Stress (Macro): The chokepoint transits and tanker events here are the shipping inputs of the oil stress reading; fewer transits or more idle laden tankers raise it. (moves the same way; same day; global scale) Source: IMF PortWatch, daily chokepoint transits (satellite AIS).
- Flights (Travel): Jet fuel follows crude and is one of airlines' largest costs, so a supply squeeze at sea raises carriers' fuel bills and, with a lag, fares. (moves the same way; weeks; sector scale) Source: EIA, daily spot prices (Brent, NY Harbor ULSD, Gulf Coast jet; NYMEX futures to April 2024).
- Oil to Prices (Macro): Longer routes round the Cape and tankers held as floating storage tie up ships, which tends to raise tanker charter rates and tanker owners' shares. (moves the same way; days to weeks; sector scale) Source: Yahoo Finance, tanker shipping shares (FRO, DHT, INSW, TNK, STNG, TRMD).
- Fuel & Charging (Domestic Intelligence): Crude is the largest part of the price of a gallon, so a sustained crude rise from disrupted tanker flows reaches U.S. pump prices within weeks. (moves the same way; 1-3 weeks; economy scale) Source: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (weekly retail $/gallon).
- Prices & Inflation (Macro): Gasoline is the most volatile part of the consumer price index, so oil supply shocks show in headline inflation within a month or two. (moves the same way; 1-2 months; economy scale) Source: BLS consumer price indexes (food at home and away, airline fares, core goods, gasoline, all items), via FRED.
- Economies & Debt (World Powers): A crude price jump widens the trade gaps of large oil importers such as India and Japan and swells Gulf exporters' revenues. (either way, depending on the cause; months; global scale) Source: IMF World Economic Outlook / DataMapper.
- Natural Gas (Macro): About a fifth of world LNG trade, mostly Qatar's, also passes through Hormuz, so a disruption there tends to raise European and Asian gas prices as well as crude. (moves the same way; days; global scale) Source: EIA, Today in Energy (16 Jun 2025): the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical oil chokepoint.
What feeds this page?
- Energy Industry (Companies): U.S. crude and fuel exporters in the directory load tankers that Oil & Tankers follows, so more U.S. export capacity adds to world seaborne supply. (moves the same way; weeks; global scale) Source: AISStream live AIS (tankers: positions, crew-reported draught, events derived by this site).
- Sanctions & Watchlists (Global Intelligence): Designating tankers and their owners pushes sanctioned oil onto older ships, longer routes and ship-to-ship transfers, which tends to show up as more AIS gaps and idle laden tankers. (moves the same way; weeks; global scale) Source: US Treasury OFAC, Specially Designated Nationals list.
- Oil Stress (Macro): When tankers avoid Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb or Suez they sail longer routes around the Cape, tying up ships and lifting tanker rates; tanker owners' shares tend to rise with the stress. (moves the same way; days to weeks; global scale) Source: IMF PortWatch, daily chokepoint transits (satellite AIS).