Windward CEO Says Hormuz Crisis May Redefine Global Maritime Security
Windward CEO Ami Daniel says the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has gone far beyond freedom of navigation and is now a global economic pressure point. In an interview published June 8, 2026, he argued that if the current standoff is not resolved, the world may be headed toward either a U.S.-Iran deal or an all-out conflict, which he described as effectively requiring a ground campaign over part of Iran to secure the strait.
Daniel, who grew up in Haifa and served 6.5 years in the Israeli Navy, recalled surviving Hezbollah’s July 14, 2006 missile attack on the missile boat INS Hanit, in which four soldiers were killed. He said that experience sharpened his understanding that maritime security affects the entire world. After leaving the navy in 2009, he founded Windward in 2010. The company went public on London’s AIM in December 2021 at a valuation of about 530 million shekels, and was taken private in 2024 by U.S. private equity firm FTV for nearly 1 billion shekels.
Daniel said the Hormuz crisis has become a major boost for Windward’s visibility and business. The company’s daily Hormuz dashboard, including a public lighter version, tracks vessel movements and ships operating in so-called dark mode, with radar and other identification systems turned off. He said the dashboard has become a global reference point, generating about 500 mentions a day in outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
According to Windward’s data, 39 vessels have been attacked in the strait since the conflict began, while the number of dark-activity events has jumped about 600 percent to 101. Daniel said only 4 to 5 ships are now passing daily, mostly small Indian or Iranian vessels, with a few Chinese or Pakistani tankers allowed through. He said prices in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Qatar have risen 20 percent to 40 percent, and warned that Tehran is damaging itself too, while the U.S. blockade is inflicting pressure that could last half a year or even a year.
He said Israel could benefit in the next five years if oil from the Emirates and Saudi Arabia is shipped by pipeline to Eilat, then through the Eilat Ashkelon pipeline to the Mediterranean. He also warned that maritime coercion elsewhere is likely to become a broader precedent, and said artificial intelligence, satellite imagery, and vulnerable undersea cables are reshaping the industry and the risks it faces.
