Vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Wednesday, down from 12 the previous day, according to preliminary ship-tracking data. This is below the 10-day average of 14 vessels. Some vessels may be sailing with transponders turned off and are not included in the counts.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global oil and LNG shipments. A significant decline in traffic can impact supply and potentially lead to price volatility.
Vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Wednesday, down from 12 the previous day, according to preliminary ship-tracking data. This figure is below the 10-day average of 14 vessels. Of the seven vessels that transited, four exited and three entered.
One of the exiting vessels was the very large crude carrier Finland Prosperity, carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil. No tankers carrying liquefied natural gas exited the strait. The remaining three exits were made by two dry bulk carriers and a short-range dirty products tanker.
Among the three ships that entered the strait, one was a dry bulk carrier, and the other two were a short-range tanker and a medium-range-sized tanker. The data noted that some vessels may be sailing through the waterway with their transponders turned off, and these are not included in the counts.
At the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, approximately 28 commodity ships transited on Wednesday, a level similar to the 10-day average of 27. Of these, 16 ships entered and 12 exited.