Hormuz shipping traffic falls to single digits, data shows

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global shipping, saw a significant drop in vessel traffic as of late September, according to recent data. On Thursday, only seven vessels passed through the strait, down from eleven the previous day, according to preliminary ship-tracking figures. This is a stark contrast to the 10-day average of 15 vessels, highlighting the reduced maritime activity in the region.

Of the seven vessels that transited the strait, two Panamax ships exited, one carrying fertilizer and the other sailing in ballast. Five vessels entered the strait, including a Panamax vessel with dry bulk cargo, a Handysize vessel loaded with steel, another Handysize vessel with grains, a medium-range tanker carrying dirty petroleum products, and a Supramax vessel with dry bulk cargo.

The data does not include vessels that may have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to evade detection.

In addition to the vessels, two ballast QatarEnergy-linked vessels, the Al Ghashamiya and Al Daayen, were observed inside the Strait of Hormuz on September 9 and 6, respectively. These vessels had not been seen outside the waterway since September 6 and 3. Another QatarEnergy-controlled vessel, Al Marrouna, also exited the strait on September 10, marking the first known LNG shipment aboard a Qatar-linked tanker since late July.

Before the Iran war began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz typically accommodated about 125 large commercial vessels daily, constituting about 20% of the world's daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply. Since the onset of the conflict, a US blockade of Iranian shipping has halted Iranian crude oil exports.

Meanwhile, in the Red Sea, Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen's port city of Mocha and advanced down the Red Sea coast to strategic islands, raising further concerns about maritime security in the region. In the Bab el-Mandeb strait, 26 commodity vessels traveled through on September 6, with 10 entering and 16 exiting, compared to an average of around 27 vessels over the last 10 days.