Strait of Hormuz Shipping Traffic Collapses After Tanker Attacks

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply following recent tanker attacks, with shipping data showing the waterway nearly at a standstill over the weekend. The slowdown comes as talks between the United States and Iran aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict remain stalled.

Vessel Traffic Falls Dramatically

Shiptracking data from just five commodity vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, with none recorded on Sunday. That compares to 31 transits during the previous weekend. Among the vessels that did move through were an empty Very Large Crude Carrier with its tracking system turned off and an Indian-flagged Very Large Gas Carrier that took the Iranian route. A smaller tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil also exited the strait.

Attacks Trigger Near-Standstill

Traffic slowed to a crawl after the United Arab Emirates reported that three vessels operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company came under attack while transiting the strait last week. The United States has said it can keep up a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely. While some ships may be passing through with their transponders switched off and going undetected, current numbers remain far below the more than 130 daily transits recorded before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.

Iran Sets Conditions for Resuming Traffic

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Washington must meet Iran’s conditions regarding the strait before shipping can resume normally. The waterway carried about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the conflict began.

Bab el-Mandeb Also Affected

At the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where Yemen’s Houthi forces declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20, weekend transits by commodity vessels fell to 49 from 55 the previous week. No Saudi oil shipments were tracked during that period.