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Hormuz Shipping Traffic Slumps Again After Fresh Attacks Against Commercial Vessels

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Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell again after two vessels came under attack late last week, renewing safety concerns along the strategically vital waterway, according to ship tracking data.

Traffic along the Strait stood at just five over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor, marking a sharp decline from last week, when figures reached their highest levels, at over 50 vessels, since the conflict began in late February.

Several vessels conducted open transits over the weekend, meaning they traversed the Strait with their transponders on, according to a Bloomberg report. This included two very large crude carriers, which made their way into the Persian Gulf without any cargoes, along with a French-flagged container ship and two other laden oil tankers, which left the inland sea.

However, a dozen others abandoned their crossings after a Singapore-flagged container ship was attacked, along with a Qatari oil tanker, prompting the UK's Joint Maritime Information Center to once again raise its threat level to "substantial" on Sunday.

The Bloomberg report also noted that certain ships took alternative routes, with an Aframax tanker sailing between Iran's Qeshm and Larak islands, before moving to the middle of the Strait.

This was despite the United Nations International Maritime Organization warning on Friday that there were about 80 mines in the historic, central lanes of the strategically vulnerable chokepoint.

Despite this fresh uncertainty, Middle Eastern producers continued to plough through with oil and liquefied natural gas loadings, with Iran itself accelerating loadings after Washington waived sanctions on its exports for a period of 60 days, according to a Reuters report, citing ship tracking data.

Besides the several VLCCs that have made their way into the Persian Gulf in recent days, Qatar and the UAE have continued to load LNG tankers, despite the latest strikes and uncertainties in the region, according to Kpler data.

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