Tanker assaults curb traffic through Hormuz Strait, data shows sharp decline

Kpler's vessel-tracking figures show that only five commodity carriers passed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, and none were logged on Sunday, a stark contrast to the 31 ships recorded the previous weekend. The decline coincided with claims that three Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tankers were attacked in transit, prompting many operators to halt or reroute voyages. Among the Saturday transits were an empty Very Large Crude Carrier with its AIS disabled and an Indian-flagged Very Large Gas Carrier that followed an Iranian-designated lane, as well as a small tanker loaded with Iranian fuel oil that left the waterway.

While some ships may still move undetected, overall traffic remains far below the pre-war norm of more than 130 daily passages. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, warned that shipping will only resume once Washington meets Tehran's demands regarding the strait. The Hormuz channel historically handled about one-fifth of global crude oil and LNG shipments, underscoring the broader economic implications of the disruption.