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Hormuz tanker traffic hits two-month low as security fears persist

Ship-tracking cited by Bloomberg shows vessel traffic has stayed subdued since late July, and tanker operators are increasingly avoiding the chokepoint or transiting only in low-visibility mode.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to the lowest level in more than two months as security concerns intensify after recent ship attacks and continued threats to shipping in the region, OilPrice reports. According to ship-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg, vessel traffic across the chokepoint, including commodity carriers, plunged to a two-month low by the end of July after a brief lift in mid-June through early July, when traffic temporarily rose as the chokepoint’s reopening was tied to a now-dead U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.

OilPrice says the situation has worsened over the past two weeks, with Iran seeking control over vessels transiting the strait and Iran-aligned Houthis threatening Saudi-linked shipments in the Red Sea and at the Bab el-Mandeb, which feeds into the Arabian Sea. As a result, the trickle of traffic extends the period in which tanker owners either use dark mode to cross, abandon attempts to transit, or do not risk crossings at all. This weekend, OilPrice adds, the Egypt Prosperity, a very large crude carrier, aborted an exit attempt from the Persian Gulf after direct threats over radio, according to security consultancy alerts seen by Bloomberg News.

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