Iran war: Second tanker reportedly hit in Strait of Hormuz

Seventeen commercial ships sailed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, a decline from 37 the previous week, according to shipping data released on Monday. This reduced movement reflects ongoing tension in the Gulf, notably the ongoing standoff between the United States and Iran. The narrow waterway, historically the primary route for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict, now sees a mere trickle of traffic.

Despite this, Middle Eastern oil producers persist in shipping their commodities via tankers equipped with transponders. As of 0706 GMT, analytics firm Kpler's provisional data revealed five vessels exiting the strait on Sunday, alongside two smaller oil tankers entering the Gulf. Among the exiting ships were the expansive crude carrier Pinios, two tankers carrying refined petroleum products, and two empty carriers for bulk goods and gas.

The Pinios was en route on Monday, offloading 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude oil from the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah port to a new very large crude carrier, New Constant, which was expected to deliver the cargo to China. Dynacom, managing the Pinios, and Associated Maritime Co HK Ltd, managing New Constant, did not immediately respond to inquiries for further details.

On Saturday, eight vessels sailed from the Gulf, transporting crude, agricultural, petroleum, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and fertilizer. Concurrently, a very large gas carrier and a VLCC entered the strait, data from Kpler and LSEG showed. The Shandong Redwood LNG tanker exited the Hormuz strait on September 19, headed for Pakistan, with its manager, Shandong Marine Energy, not immediately providing a response to a request for clarification.

Before the start of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran on February 28, the Hormuz strait typically accommodated around 125 large commercial vessels daily, comprising tankers, gas carriers, bulkers, and container ships. Attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Aramco's East-West pipeline, a crucial alternative pathway for Saudi oil during the Iran conflict, have led Saudi Aramco to augment exports through the Strait of Hormuz this month and beyond.

In the week ending September 13, a total of 22 tankers, predominantly very large crude carriers, transported 42 million barrels of crude oil through the Hormuz strait, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq responsible for 43% of the volume each. At Bab el-Mandeb, the southern terminus of the Red Sea, 51 vessels crossed, with 33 leaving over the weekend, including an Aframax-sized tanker carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of Saudi crude.

This marked a decrease from 57 vessels in the preceding weekend. Notably, since September 16, no visible oil loading has occurred from Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea.