Hormuz Shipping Traffic Falls to Single Digits

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just seven ships on Thursday, down from 11 the previous day and well below the 10-day average of 15, according to preliminary Kpler tracking data.

 

Of the seven vessels, two Panamax ships exited the strait one carrying fertiliser and the other sailing in ballast while five vessels entered, including ships carrying dry bulk cargo, steel, grains and petroleum products.

 

The latest figures exclude vessels that may have transited the waterway with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders switched off.

 

Meanwhile, QatarEnergy-linked vessels have also been spotted in the strait. The QatarEnergy-controlled Al Marrouna exited Hormuz this week after delivering a cargo from Ras Laffan to Pakistan on September 10, marking the first known LNG shipment aboard a Qatar-linked tanker since late July.

 

Before the Iran war began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz typically handled around 125 large commercial vessels a day and accounted for roughly 20% of global daily crude oil and LNG supplies.

 

Traffic has also remained active through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where 26 commodity vessels were recorded on Thursday, compared with a 10-day average of around 27.