Hormuz Island

The island, not the strait

People searching for the "port of Hormuz" are usually looking for one of two things: the island that gave the strait its name, or a modern port somewhere in the channel. It is worth separating them.

Hormuz Island is a small landmass off the Iranian coast, near the northern side of the passage. It is close to Qeshm, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, and to Larak and Hengam.

Red soil

The island is known for its mineral-rich earth, including a deep red ochre that stains the beaches and has been quarried commercially. It is the reason photographs of the place look artificially saturated.

It has made the island a modest tourist destination in its own right, which is not something most chokepoint geography can claim.

The fortress and the vanished port

Hormuz was a significant trading centre in the medieval and early modern periods, controlling commerce moving in and out of the Gulf. The Portuguese seized it in the early sixteenth century and built a fort, the ruins of which still stand.

The trading port itself did not survive as a commercial centre. What survived was the name, which migrated to the waterway and outlasted the town entirely.

Where the actual ports are

Modern shipping does not call at Hormuz Island. Bandar Abbas on the Iranian mainland is the significant port near the strait, and the large terminals that matter for oil exports lie further inside the Gulf, or outside the strait at Fujairah.

Common questions

Is there a port of Hormuz?

Not a commercial one today. Hormuz Island was a major trading port historically, but modern shipping uses mainland ports such as Bandar Abbas. The name survives on the strait rather than on a working harbour.

Why is Hormuz Island red?

Its soil is unusually rich in iron oxide and other minerals, producing a deep red ochre that colours the ground and the beaches.

Who owns Hormuz Island?

Iran. It sits within Iranian territorial waters near the northern side of the strait.