Only three commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the fewest since May, as US-Iran attacks escalate. Two VLCCs reappeared outside the strait. Iran threatens to halt all oil exports through the chokepoint.
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Just three commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the fewest daily transits since May, shipping data showed. Most ships halted or turned back after recent Iranian attacks on vessels and the resumption of a U.S. blockade on Iran-linked shipping. The re-escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has largely stopped traffic through the world's most important crude oil and gas shipping route, driving up global energy prices.
Miraan, a sanctioned product tanker carrying fuel oil, and Norita, a small vessel carrying liquefied petroleum gas, both exited the strait on Thursday via the Iranian route. They stopped at the Gulf of Oman, where the U.S. blockade is in effect, according to Kpler data as of 0513 GMT on Friday.
Arolia, a bunkering tanker loaded with Iraqi fuel oil used to refuel vessels at sea, made a U-turn back into the Gulf hours after exiting earlier on Friday, LSEG data showed.
On Wednesday, 11 vessels crossed the strait, a fraction of the average of 125 vessels that transited the waterway daily before the war. No Very Large Crude Carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers passed through for a second day on Thursday.
Two VLCCs reappeared on AIS tracking on Thursday outside the strait, each carrying 2 million barrels of crude. The Colombia Prosperity, laden with Saudi crude, is heading to Okinawa, Japan. The Costa Rica Prosperity, carrying Iraqi Basra Medium crude, is destined for Turkey, the data showed. Kpler's database showed these tankers crossed the strait on July 13, while S&P Global Energy assessed they exited on July 14.
Iraq briefly suspended oil loadings on Thursday after a drone hit an oil tanker at its Basra terminal, four Iraqi oil and security sources told Reuters. Loadings later resumed.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday no oil or gas would be exported through the Strait of Hormuz as long as U.S. attacks continued, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported. Tehran has also signaled it could push its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, sources told Reuters, if Washington attacks Iran's infrastructure.
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