Fewer than 20 ships transit key Strait of Hormuz over weekend: data
Traffic remains below normal levels
Fewer than 20 ships made their way through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, according to shipping data released on Monday, as Iranian and US blockades continue to impede traffic through the strategic chokepoint for energy shipments. Four vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, with a total of 13 doing so on Saturday. However, these figures may change as some ships have switched off their transponders while traversing the waters.
This is in stark contrast to Friday's figure of 16 transits, with two empty very large crude carriers (VLCCs) entering the Gulf without functional tracking devices, one bound for Iraq and the other for Bahrain. On Thursday, a VLCC carrying 2 million barrels of Emirati crude exited the strait. Six very large gas carriers also transited the strait over the past three days, six entering empty and the others carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) loaded from Iran, exiting the Gulf.
Overall, traffic volumes have remained suppressed in the week leading up to Aug 21, with vessel aborts or route changes due to attacks, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency's report. Overall traffic volumes remain significantly below normal levels, with AIS-detected transits approximately 90 percent below pre-conflict baselines and declining since the peak between June 24 and June 26.
Tanker traffic, accounting for 45 percent of the total, continues to dominate movement through the strait, with 56 percent of these tankers carrying crude oil or oil products and chemicals. The remaining 24 percent are LPG carriers. Since July 6, there have been 23 incidents of projectile strikes, resulting in bridge, engine-room, and structural damage to vessels within the strait and its surroundings.
In total, 24 commodity vessels sailed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, down from Saturday's figure of 32, which was an increase from 22 on Friday, as per Kpler data. Over the weekend, two VLCCs entered the Red Sea, one carrying Iraqi Basrah crude and the other empty.
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