Hormuz Traffic Rises Ahead of Renewed US Blockade

More vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday than on previous days, with most linked to Iranian trade, shortly before a US naval blockade of all Iranian ports took effect on Wednesday.

Nine of the 11 ships that transited the strait used the Iranian route. Three empty oil tankers entered the waterway, including one Aframax vessel and two very large crude carriers.

Ships carrying Iranian exports out of the Persian Gulf included a tanker loaded with two million barrels of crude oil, another carrying refined products, two liquefied petroleum gas tankers, a methanol carrier and a dry bulk vessel transporting iron ore.

Available shipping data showed no arrivals or departures by tankers seeking to load oil or gas from other Gulf producers on Tuesday.

Fighting between the United States and Iran intensified this week, sharply slowing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war began in February, about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the waterway each day.

The United States said on Tuesday that Iran had attacked seven commercial ships over the previous week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members dead, missing or injured.

Goldman Sachs expects shipping flows in the Persian Gulf to recover more slowly even if geopolitical tensions ease, as operators using the non-Iranian route through Hormuz remain cautious.

(Reuters, bak)