At least 150 tankers, including crude and LNG vessels, dropped anchor in open Gulf waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz and dozens more were stationary on the other side of the chokepoint, shipping data showed, according to Reuters.

The tankers were clustered in open waters off the coasts of major Gulf oil producers, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as LNG giant Qatar, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform.

Many of the vessels were stationary within exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the key Gulf countries, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to MarineTraffic data. Dozens of cargo ships were separately clustered across various EEZs, the data showed.

In addition, at least another 100 tankers were anchored outside of the strait, along the UAE and Omani coasts and anchorage points as well as dozens of cargo ships, according to the data.