Fewer ships transit Strait of Hormuz as supertankers absent

Seven cargo vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, marking a significant drop from the previous day's activity, according to data from shiptracker Kpler. This decline in maritime traffic is a cause for concern as the US and Iran continue their peace negotiations without reaching an agreement. Out of the seven ships, four entered and three exited the strait, which historically accommodates about one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments prior to the February outbreak of war.

Notably, none of these vessels were very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers. However, one very large gas carrier carrying propane and butane did traverse out of Hormuz through the Iranian route, as per the data. Meanwhile, at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, traffic experienced a slight decrease on Thursday compared to the preceding two days.

Kpler data reveals that 23 commodity ships transited this strait on Thursday, down from 34 on each of the previous two days. Of these, 16 ships entered and seven exited the strait. Among the seven exiting vessels, two were Suezmax tankers, the Stoic Warrior and the Dokos, transporting crude oil destined for Vietnam and India, respectively.

Importantly, no very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers made their way through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday. It is worth mentioning that vessels bypassing the waterways with transponders disabled are not included in the reported data.