Ship Traffic Through Hormuz Falls Further amid Fresh Attacks

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell again at the start of the week as shipping companies grew more cautious following a fresh exchange of attacks between the US and Iran. Kpler data showed that only four commodity vessels crossed the strait on Monday, down from seven the previous day.

The four included two tankers leaving the strait and two vessels entering it. No crude oil supertankers or liquefied natural gas tankers were seen passing through the waterway on Monday.

Maritime tensions intensified after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported receiving multiple accounts that a tanker had radioed that it had been struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, Greek shipping company Dynacom Tankers reported that two vessels under its management had been hit by projectiles of unknown origin on Monday while sailing off Oman. A third tanker was struck by a drone at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that two oil tankers had caught fire following explosions in the Strait of Hormuz and that the waterway would remain closed as long as US military operations in the region continued. The Guards also claimed to have targeted US radar and air defense systems in Bahrain, including a Patriot system in Riffa.

(Reuters, bak)