Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven commodity vessels on Monday, below the 10-day average of about 12, as hopes of a US-Iran peace deal continued to fade.
Six vessels entered the strait: a Handysize carrying steel, a Panamax carrying grains and oilseeds, a Handy/MR1 tanker carrying diesel-type oil products, an MR tanker, a VLGC (very large gas carrier) and a small tanker, both in ballast, Kpler data collected at 2.25pm UAE time on Tuesday showed.
The data covers tankers, dry bulk carriers and LNG and LPG carriers, and excludes container vessels. One Handysize carrying coal exited the strait. In the final weeks before the war, around 98 commodity vessels transited the strait, which normally carried about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.
Traffic fell into the low single digits during the war's most severe disruption, to only two crossings on May 8 and 9, before recovering through June into the forties and fifties as diplomatic efforts raised hopes of a deal. That recovery has unwound since mid-July after a June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran fell apart.
Twenty-five commodity vessels transited the Bab Al Mandeb strait on the Red Sea on Monday, in line with the 10-day average of nearly 24, Kpler data showed. Traffic has held steady in recent weeks but remains below the daily average of about 35 crossings recorded through June and early July.
A maritime blockade of Saudi ships by Yemen’s Houthis since late July has triggered a sharp decline in traffic. Crossings fell to 17 vessels on July 26, the fewest since the war began on February 28. Ship crossings have since picked up, stabilising around the low-to-mid 20s.
The slowdown at both chokepoints comes amid a diplomatic deadlock between the US and Iran. On Monday, US President Donald Trump demanded that Iran pay reparations for people “killed and gravely wounded” by Tehran-backed forces over the past 50 years.
Iran has sought compensation for war-related damages and an end to sanctions in talks largely mirroring its demands from the earlier MoU.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday on the deadlock, with Brent crude climbing 2.3 per cent to $89.70 a barrel at 2.12pm UAE time, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.5 per cent to $84.18 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the cost of chartering a supertanker on the benchmark Middle East-to-China route is approaching $500,000 a day, more than double prewar levels, according to Bloomberg.
Shipping risks have also been compounded by an oil slick spreading off Oman's Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar governorate. Oman's Environment Authority said on Monday that the slick covered about 389 square kilometres and came as close as 7km from the shore.
The oil has spilt from the Caroline Bezengi, a sanctioned tanker carrying close to one million barrels of Russian crude to Asia. The vessel first reported difficulties off Yemen on June 8 over what maritime security sources said appeared to be an on-board blast. No party has claimed responsibility, and the ship last transmitted a public AIS signal on June 11.
