Thursday 12 March 2026 · moved the Index · plateau
Strait of Hormuz crisis
Multiple cargo ships, tankers, and bulk carriers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf region during March–April 2026 amid escalating Middle East tensions. At least six vessels were attacked, with some damaged, crews stranded, and shipping routes disrupted. A Russian shadow fleet tanker caught fire after a suspected drone attack near Malta. The US seized an Iranian cargo ship, and seafarers faced abandonment risks and food rationing.
Peak 332.5 on Thursday 12 March 2026. The shaded band is the incident window.
Where the attention came from
Over the whole window this ran Public curiosity-led; on the peak day itself it read Mixed-led. When the two differ, the fast signals (social, news) spiked and faded while the slow ones (search, research) carried the tail.
Bar = share of the extra attention over the whole window; the tick marks the share on the peak day alone, where the two differ.
How unusual it was
The #3 incident since 2020 by peak. Its peak day ranks #15 among all days — 9 days of Ever Given blocks the Suez Canal and 5 days of Baltimore bridge collapse ran higher.
How far it spread
Spilled over — 3 of 6 vessel-type groups drew clearly more readers than usual.
Bars start at 1× — normal readership for that vessel type, the weeks before the incident. Grey = no clear lift. "Over time" shows each group's daily readers through the window; "All 12 articles" breaks the six groups back into their members.
How it was framed the frame glossary →
Lead frame: geopolitical pawn. Trade press was 1% of in-scope coverage — the story had left the trade press and gone mainstream. (Historical coverage is scored on headlines only.)
Acting, or acted upon
In 65% of coverage shipping was the thing acted upon rather than the actor; 20% of it was strongly negative in tone.
What the coverage said
- Why 'shadow tankers' are the only ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuzstraitstimes.com · 2026-03-13
- Iran latest: Cargo ships hit in Strait of Hormuzthetimes.com · 2026-03-11
- Iran: Cargo ships hit in Hormuz as Dubai targeted by dronesdw.com · 2026-03-11
- Lloyd's of London stresses it is still insuring shipping in strait of Hormuz | Shipping industrytheguardian.com · 2026-03-11
- Container Ship Damaged in Strike Near Strait of Hormuzmaritime-executive.com · 2026-03-11
- Norway Bars Its Ships From Hormuz as Attacks on Merchant Vessels Escalategcaptain.com · 2026-03-12
Gold rule = a national or international outlet, not a trade title.
Maritime Attention Index, incident: Strait of Hormuz crisis, peak 332.5 on 12 March 2026. maritimeattentionindex.com/incidents/2026-strait-of-hormuz-crisis/