LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) – On Friday, fewer ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz compared to earlier in the week, following an incident where a Taiwanese-operated vessel was attacked by Iran, according to ship tracking data.
The U.N. shipping agency has temporarily stopped its voluntary plan to evacuate hundreds of stranded vessels and thousands of sailors from the Gulf after the ship was damaged near Oman.
Despite the situation, at least four tankers, including three very large crude carriers capable of holding up to 2 million barrels of oil each, entered the Gulf for loading operations, as reported by ship tracking services LSEG and MarineTraffic on Friday.
Additionally, two supertankers entered the strait to load Iranian oil, while another tanker left the strait carrying 2 million barrels of oil through the Omani side, according to analysis from Kpler.
Oil buyers have been eager to stock up after recent disruptions caused by the conflict with Iran, especially after a ceasefire was agreed upon between Washington and Tehran.
On Friday, crude prices fell by over 3%, facing significant losses for the week due to reduced supply concerns, while Saudi Arabia, the leading oil exporter, resumed its loading activities in the Gulf, which may lead to increased supply.
Before the conflict started, about 125 ships were sailing daily on average.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine reported that its ship was struck by an “unknown object” near Oman, after U.S. officials indicated that Iran had attacked the vessel.
Jakob Larsen, the chief safety and security officer at shipping association BIMCO, commented, “This attack is a setback for plans to evacuate ships and resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz, but some traffic is still expected to continue.”
He stressed the need for clear agreements between the U.S. and Iran to ensure safe maritime traffic through the strait.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that safe passage through the strait cannot be assured without coordination with Tehran.
On Friday, tanker traffic, which includes crude oil and chemical tankers, totaled 13 transits in both directions, a drop from 24 transits on Thursday and 27 on Wednesday, the highest volume since the conflict escalated with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, according to Kpler.
A separate analysis by AXSMarine showed that overall sailings through the strait, including bulk carriers, reached 62 transits on June 24, marking the highest single-day count since the start of the conflict. This figure represents 53% of the traffic recorded on the same day last year.
“Traffic has not yet returned to normal,” AXSMarine noted.