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Vessel traffic through Strait of Hormuz falls amid U.S.-Iran uncertainty
Ship-tracking data shows 33 vessels transited Hormuz between Monday and Thursday, down from 50 in the same period last week.
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply amid uncertainty around U.S.-Iran talks and shifting prospects for how the key oil and LNG chokepoint is managed in the Middle East, according to ship-tracking data monitored by Reuters.
Between Monday and Thursday, a total of 33 vessels transited the Strait, compared with 50 for the same days last week. On Thursday, when markets were expecting a draft Iran-Oman proposal for managing the Strait, four vessels moved through Hormuz, per Kpler data.
Only six crude oil tankers have cleared Hormuz outbound so far this week, according to Kpler analysis cited by Reuters. Traffic also deteriorated earlier in the week at Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after a Houthi claim they hit a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea.
Analysts quoted by the BBC said threats to shipping in the Gulf and the Red Sea have escalated to the worst safety situation since the Iran war began. Oil market hopes for U.S.-Iran and an Iran-Oman deal appear to be fading, with Iran signaling a more restrictive regime, including proposals under review in parliament that would ban U.S. and Israeli ships from transiting the Strait.
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