{
  "id": 9728497,
  "title": "Hormuz Tanker Transits Crash to Single Digits as Crisis Deepens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/hormuz-tanker-transits-crash-to-single-digits-as-crisis-deepens",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-25T07:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Hormuz-Tanker-Transits-Crash-to-Single-Digits-as-Crisis-Deepens.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Strait of Hormuz witnessed a significant drop in tanker traffic on Thursday, with only nine vessels passing through, including one very large crude carrier and several smaller ships. This marks a sharp decline from previous numbers, which had dwindled from double to single digits. The nine tankers that navigated through the strait included a mix of large and small vessels, as well as one ballast very large gas carrier. On Wednesday, Windward reported five tankers entering the Strait of Hormuz, comprising a crude oil carrier, a couple of product tankers, and a liquefied natural gas carrier.\n\nThe heightened caution among owners and energy exporters navigating the Strait of Hormuz stems from the recent re-escalation of hostilities, including attacks on tankers and the threat posed by the Iran-aligned Houthis in the Red Sea, as well as the temporary shutdown of the East-West onshore pipeline in Saudi Arabia. This has exacerbated an existing shortage of tankers, primarily due to shipowners' reluctance to risk the Strait of Hormuz. The shortage has consequently driven up shipping costs for the Persian Gulf region, with very large crude carrier spot rates on the route from the Persian Gulf to China reaching an unprecedented $1.27 million on Monday, before slightly dropping to $1.26 million.\n\nMoreover, Saudi Arabia's increased oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman have further strained the tanker shortage. Reuters noted that Gulf capacity for ship-to-ship transfers has hit its limits due to the surge in Saudi flows from the western port of Yanbu and its eastern ports on the Persian Gulf.",
  "summary": "Only nine commodity carriers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, eight of them exiting the waterway, Reuters reported in its now regular update on tanker numbers in the strait. The Thursday total is a further decline on already depressed numbers that have now gone from double to single digits, with the 10-day average at 18. The nine tankers that passed through Hormuz yesterday…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}