Hormuz transits at lowest in over two months after attacks, data shows

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports, witnessed its lowest vessel transits in over two months due to a surge in attacks on tankers. This decline, the lowest since July 23, 2020, was reported by shipping data analytics firm Kpler on October 6. The number of vessels passing through the strait on Tuesday was seven, marking the lowest figure since the start of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Crude oil transiting the strait fell by 27% to 10.1 million barrels per day, a level that brought it back to its September average, but only 74% of the pre-war period's volume. Most of the fall occurred in ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman, where cargoes are moved between tankers. Despite this, exports from the Gulf of Oman coast and the Red Sea surged to 6.7 million barrels per day, nearly double pre-war levels, compensating for the lost supply from Hormuz.

This helped maintain overall exports of Middle East crude at pre-war levels. On Wednesday, the number of vessels transiting the strait increased to 10, but it was far below the daily average of over 20 seen on Sunday and Monday. The data does not include vessels with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to evade detection.

Reports from maritime security sources indicate that attacks on tankers in Hormuz reached their highest frequency since the war began, with Gulf producers ramping up their export efforts. The most recent incident involved projectiles hitting a tanker 51 nautical miles north of Qatar’s Madinat ash Shamal, resulting in casualties, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.

Prior to the onset of the Iran war on February 28, approximately 125 large commercial vessels transited the strait each day, carrying a fifth of the global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.