Maritime Traffic in Strait of Hormuz Drops to Single Digits

Ship tracking data released Thursday shows that vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Wednesday. This figure is a decrease from 12 ships on Tuesday and remains below the 10 day average of 14. Of the seven vessels, four exited the strait and three entered. The reports note that some ships may not be included in these totals if they are sailing with their transponders turned off.

Among the exiting vessels, one was a very large crude carrier named the Finland Prosperity, which carried nearly 2 million barrels of crude. The other exits included two dry bulk carriers and a short range products tanker. No tankers carrying liquefied natural gas exited the strait. The three entering vessels consisted of one dry bulk carrier, one short range tanker, and one medium range tanker.

In contrast, traffic at the Bab el Mandeb Strait remained steady. Twenty eight commodity ships passed through on Wednesday, which is close to the 10 day average of 27. Of these, 16 entered and 12 exited.

Loadings of crude and condensate from Saudi Arabia at the Red Sea port of Yanbu have rebounded in September. This port serves as a key hub for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. According to Vortexa, loadings rose to 3.7 million barrels per day in September from 3.2 million in August, which was the lowest level since the start of the Iran war. Kpler provided different estimates, placing September loadings at 2.9 million barrels per day compared to 1.5 million in the previous month. Both sources attribute the decline in late July and August to intensified attacks by Iran backed Houthis near the Bab el Mandeb Strait.