Key facts
- Tanker crossings in the Strait of Hormuz reached a 2.5-month low with only one vessel on July 23.
- Crude oil prices neared $100 per barrel due to heightened war risks.
- Maritime traffic monitor Kpler reported six vessel crossings on Thursday, a 60 percent decrease from the previous day.
- No tankers entered the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
- Activity at the Bab al-Mandeb Strait increased to 49 confirmed crossings.
Tanker crossings in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a 2.5-month low with only one vessel on Thursday, July 23, as war risks spiked this week, driving crude oil prices above $100 per barrel again. Three tankers transited the strait on Wednesday, but this number crumbled to just one on Thursday, according to Kpler’s vessel-tracking data. The New Giant, a supertanker loaded with about 2 million barrels of Basrah crude from Iraq, was the sole vessel to exit the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, with China’s Rizhao port expected to welcome it in mid-August. No tanker made an inbound transit through the Strait into the Persian Gulf on Thursday.
Meanwhile, traffic at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea held relatively high despite Houthi attacks on vessels and threats of blockade, with 49 confirmed commodity tanker crossings on July 23. Several ships that had earlier reversed course in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea later completed their journeys, while others remained on hold after previous U-turns. Four vessels also made "dark" transits with tracking systems switched off. Voyages from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal make the delivery time of energy commodities to Asia three times longer than through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Saudi Aramco has begun offering crude loadings at Sidi Kerir, the Egyptian port on the Mediterranean, as an alternative to its Red Sea ports. ING commodity analysts noted that further escalation in the Persian Gulf and fears of a widening conflict are putting a significant amount of oil supply at risk. The U.S. military announced it had completed its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.