Hormuz tanker transits fall to lowest daily level since early May

Tehran, Iran. Two tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the lowest daily number of commodity vessels since early May, according to shipping data. Both vessels entered the Gulf.

Shipping data

One very large gas carrier and one very large crude carrier entered the strait from the Gulf of Oman, shiptracker Kpler data showed by 0657 GMT on Tuesday.

The total was below the 10-day average of 14 vessels and down from seven vessels of all types recorded on Sunday. The figures could change because some ships had switched off their navigation transponders while passing through the waterway.

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 barrels per day by August 23.

Iranian restrictions

Iran said it had blacklisted 45 tankers for violating its passage rules through the strait and threatened action against vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers with them, 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 also 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.