Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed” and that any vessel attempting to pass through the waterway would be set “ablaze.”

Already reports said at least five tankers have been damaged, two personnel killed and about 150 ships stranded around the strait.

“Traffic is down at least 80 percent,” Michelle Bockmann, a senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. He added that the shipping industry had already been grappling with a “huge spike” in freight costs for routes out of the Middle East and the Gulf.

Oil prices remained at almost the previous day's level at $79.64 per barrel.