Tanker transits through Strait of Hormuz hit lowest level in over two months

Ship tracking data showed that the number of tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just one on Thursday, marking the lowest level since May 7, as risks to maritime shipping in the Middle East persist and oil prices once again surpassed $100 per barrel.

According to analytics firm Kpler, only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on July 23, compared to three the previous day.

The supertanker New Giant, carrying two million barrels of Basra crude from Iraq, exited the strait yesterday and is scheduled to arrive at China's Rizhao port by mid-August.

No ships entered the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

The US military announced early Friday that it had completed another round of strikes on Iran, marking the thirteenth consecutive night of such operations.

Meanwhile, Kpler data showed that a total of 32 commodity tankers transited the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday, up from 26 the previous day.

Of these vessels, 14 are heading into the Red Sea, while 18 are leaving the strait towards the Gulf of Aden.

Among the tankers exiting Bab al-Mandab, nine are carrying crude oil cargoes, including two Chinese supertankers bound for China.

Separately, ship tracking data from Kpler and the London Stock Exchange Group indicated that the refined products tanker Torm Innovation, loaded with about 500,000 barrels of naphtha and bound for Asia, altered its course slightly towards the Suez Canal exit instead of the usual Bab al-Mandab route.

Regional trade sources said rerouting ships to Asia via the Suez Canal instead of Bab al-Mandab could nearly triple the voyage duration.