Hormuz tanker transits fall to lowest daily level since early May
Only two tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday as Iran blacklisted 45 vessels and the United States announced expanded sanctions.
Tehran, Iran. Only two tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the lowest daily tally of commodity vessels since early May, shipping data showed. Both vessels entered the Gulf through the key energy chokepoint.
Transit data
The total was well below the 10-day average of 14 vessels. By 0657 GMT on Tuesday, shiptracker Kpler recorded one very large gas carrier and one very large crude carrier entering the strait from the Gulf of Oman.
The figure was also down from seven vessels of all types recorded on Sunday. The data could change because some ships switched off their navigation transponders while passing through the strait.
Separate provisional data from shiptracker Vortexa put Monday’s oil transits at 5 million barrels per day. On a seven-day moving average, Hormuz transits stood at about 6 million to 7 million bpd by August 23.
Iranian measures
Iran said it had blacklisted 45 tankers for violating its rules on passage through the strait. It also threatened action against vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers with the blacklisted tankers, increasing pressure on the waterway six months into the Iran war.
“It remains to be seen how Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority can enforce compliance by such ‘non-compliant’ vessels,” said Xavier Tang, a senior market analyst at Vortexa.
“If conflict in the region escalates or vessels are attacked at the chokepoint, Hormuz transit could be affected.”
Before the conflict, the strait carried about one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
US sanctions
Iran said it would retaliate against expanded US sanctions intended to cut off its economic lifeline, while expressing confidence that its major trading partners would resist Washington’s pressure campaign.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures on Monday but did not impose the most severe sanctions. He warned that countries continuing to trade with Iran could lose access to the dollar-based financial system.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →