Hormuz Shipping Traffic Nearly Stops as Regional Tensions Rise

Source: Reuters

Hormuz Shipping Traffic Nearly Stops as Regional Tensions Rise
  • 21 Apr, 23:32
  • Iran

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely halted on Tuesday, with only three vessels recorded passing through the waterway in the past 24 hours, according to shipping data, The Caspian Post reports, citing Reuters.

A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has angered Tehran, which has responded by maintaining its own restrictions on the strategic strait. The waterway typically handles about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

According to ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform, the Ean Spir products tanker, with no known flag or ownership, passed through Hormuz on Tuesday after previously calling at an Iraqi port.

The Lian Star cargo vessel, also listed with no known flag or ownership, similarly transited the strait after departing from an Iranian port, the data showed.

Separately, the Meda liquefied petroleum gas tanker, which had previously visited a port in the United Arab Emirates and also had no identified flag or owner, crossed the strait on Monday. It was making its second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back earlier, according to satellite analysis from data analytics firm SynMax.

These limited crossings contrast sharply with the roughly 140 ships that typically passed through the strait each day before the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran began on February 28.

More than a dozen tankers briefly transited the strait after Iran announced it was open on Friday, before Tehran later declared it closed on Saturday and reportedly fired on vessels.

“Even vessels that seemingly check the publicly known boxes for successful transit through both blockades, can find themselves in danger and unable to pass,” shipbroker BRS said in a note this week.

Meanwhile, a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appeared increasingly uncertain on Tuesday, as Tehran did not commit to new peace talks and the U.S. military reported it had seized a tanker linked to Iran in international waters.

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Hormuz Shipping Traffic Nearly Stops as Regional Tensions Rise

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely halted on Tuesday, with only three vessels recorded passing through the waterway in the past 24 hours, according to shipping data, The Caspian Post reports, citing Reuters.