Shipping traffic through Strait of Hormuz rises slightly

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz saw a slight increase despite ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, according to data from Kpler. On Wednesday, 10 visible commodity vessel transits passed through the strait, up from eight the previous day. However, this number remained below the 10-day moving average of about 15 vessels.

The vessels included two medium-range fuel tankers, a liquefied petroleum gas carrier, a Panamax-sized tanker, and three handymax-sized tankers entering the strait from the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile, three vessels exited the strait from the Gulf. Iran and Oman are finalizing details of a Strait of Hormuz agreement, as reported by a senior Iranian source.

The two countries had previously agreed on how to share the waterway and its revenue. Traffic also slowed down at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, with a total of 19 commodity vessels passing through on Wednesday. Of these, six tankers exited, including a very large crude carrier, compared to 24 vessels on the previous day. Some vessels might be sailing with their transponders turned off, potentially missing in the counts.