Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a near standstill over the weekend following attacks on tankers, while talks between the United States and Iran to resolve the Middle East conflict remained stalled.
Only five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, while no transits were recorded on Sunday, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. This compares with 31 vessels during the previous weekend.
Ships entering the waterway on Saturday included an empty Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched off, and an Indian-flagged Very Large Gas Carrier that used the Iranian route, the data showed.
A small tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil was also recorded leaving the strait.
Tanker attacks increase shipping concerns
Shipping activity appeared to come almost to a halt after the United Arab Emirates said three vessels operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company had been attacked while transiting the waterway last week.
The United States has said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.
Although some vessels may be passing through without being detected because their tracking transponders are switched off, recorded traffic remains far below pre-war levels.
Before the conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, more than 130 ships a day crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with local media on Saturday that Washington must meet Tehran’s conditions regarding the strait for shipping to resume.
Strait remains critical to global energy supplies
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz handled around one-fifth of global shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, making disruptions to traffic a major concern for international energy markets.
Meanwhile, shipping activity also declined at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where Yemen’s Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20.
Kpler data recorded 49 weekend transits by commodity vessels through the route, down from 55 the previous week. No Saudi oil shipments were tracked.
Also read: Trump on Iran: “We still have one or two more targets to deal with”
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