SINGAPORE, July 13 – Shipping data reveals that the number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to its lowest point in several weeks, amid renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran and increasing safety concerns regarding shipping in the Middle East.
On Sunday, only six vessels traversed the strait, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler, marking the lowest count in five weeks.
Among those leaving the strait was the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, which was carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil, and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, which held about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products. Three empty tankers also entered the Gulf to pick up oil. Notably, many of the tankers turned off their transponders while crossing the strait.
No liquefied natural gas tankers were observed entering the strait over the past weekend, according to tracking data.
Kpler data indicates that one tanker operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company exited the strait sometime between July 10 and July 12. This vessel is now heading towards the port of Dahej in India.
On Sunday, U.S. forces conducted another round of strikes against Iran, hitting numerous targets in multiple locations with precision weapons, as reported by Central Command.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial traffic, despite Iran's earlier claims of having closed it after a vessel was attacked for traveling an unauthorized route.
On Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that they had stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz by shutting down their systems, although they did not disclose the names of the ships involved.