According to shipping data, only five ships, including one Iranian oil products tanker, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.

This represents a sharp drop in traffic during a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Iran, compared with an average of around 140 daily passages before the US-Israel war on Iran began at the end of February, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at shipping association BIMCO, said most shipping companies would require a stable ceasefire and assurances from both sides that the Strait of Hormuz is safe for transit.

He added that, in the meantime, shipping is being restricted to routes near Iran and Oman, which cannot safely handle normal traffic volumes due to their confined nature.

Among the vessels was the Iranian-flagged oil products tanker Niki, which is subject to US sanctions and was tracked leaving the strait without a listed destination, according to Kpler analysis and MarineTraffic data.

The disruption of the strait has impacted a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, contributing to a wider energy crisis.