SINGAPORE/LONDON, Sept 10 – Ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz dropped from 12 on Tuesday to seven on Wednesday, according to early shipping data released on Thursday. This number is also below the 10-day average of 14.
Among these seven ships, four left the strait while three entered, based on the tracking information.
It's possible that some vessels are passing through the area with their transponders switched off, which means they wouldn't be included in these totals.
One of the ships that departed was a very large crude carrier, the Finland Prosperity, which was carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil.
There were no tankers carrying liquefied natural gas that exited the Strait.
The other three ships that left consisted of two dry bulk carriers and a short-range dirty products tanker.
On the other hand, of the three ships that entered, one was a dry bulk carrier, while the other two were a short-range tanker and a medium-range tanker.
In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, 28 cargo ships passed through on Wednesday, which is similar to the 10-day average of 27.
Out of these, 16 ships entered and 12 exited.
RED SEA LOADINGS RECOVER FROM 6-MONTH LOW
Saudi Arabia's crude and condensate loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, an important point for avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, have bounced back in September after hitting a six-month low in August, according to shipping data from Kpler and Vortexa.
Loading levels at Yanbu rose to 3.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, up from 3.2 million bpd in August, marking the lowest level since the beginning of the Iran war, as reported by Vortexa.
Kpler noted lower loadings at 2.9 million bpd for September, compared to just 1.5 million bpd the previous month.
Loadings at Yanbu declined in late July and August due to increasing attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.