Commodity ship traffic through Strait of Hormuz drops amid rising attacks, regional tensions
Commodity vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz fell to five per day early this week as repeated attacks and regional tensions prompt heightened caution.
Key Takeaways
AIShipping data released on Monday showed that the number of commodity vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five per day at the start of the week, as companies continue to exercise caution due to ongoing attacks on ships. The data indicated that the actual number may be higher, as some operators are switching off their Automatic Identification System to avoid being targeted.
Figures from analytics firm Kpler revealed that traffic early in the week was limited to smaller vessels, including two liquefied petroleum gas carriers. One exited the strait via the Iranian route, while the other sailed without broadcasting its location en route to India.
On Friday, 14 ships crossed the strait, including a very large crude carrier loaded with two million barrels of Qatari oil, which departed after disabling its transponder.
Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported on Sunday that an oil tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile while transiting the strait on Saturday, marking the third such incident reported by the agency in recent days.
Tensions in the Gulf escalated after US forces on Sunday struck two Iranian launch platforms on Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, in what was the first known US strike against Iran since late July.