Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has hit "crisis-era lows", a UK-based maritime data firm has reported as a brief pause in fighting was shattered by fresh clashes in the Middle East. Lloyd's List Intelligence said amid the worsening security situation "a near-term recovery in traffic" through the strategic waterway was unlikely. The US president says Iran will be hit 'hard' (Paul Sancya/AP)The monitor said: "The deteriorating security environment in the Strait of Hormuz has driven vessel traffic back to crisis-era lows." An interim ceasefire deal collapsed in recent weeks after renewed fighting in the contested Strait of Hormuz, which has been a flashpoint in the war. In response, the US has moved to crack down on bodies backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "for running coercive 'insurance' schemes that extort international shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz".