Hormuz Shipping Traffic Plummets to Single Digits Amid US-Iran Tensions

Commodity ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped to single digits, according to data from shiptracker Kpler. On Thursday, August 21, seven vessels sailed through the waterway, down from the previous day's total of 14. This is a significant drop in traffic, with nearly a fifth of global shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas passing through Hormuz before war began in February.

The ships that did pass through included four entering the waterway and three exiting, but none were very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers. However, one very large gas carrier carrying propane and butane did transit out of Hormuz via the Iranian route. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping lane, with the seven ships that passed through it on Thursday representing just 10% of the previous day's total.

Separately, traffic slowed slightly at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where commodity ships transiting the waterway totaled 23, compared to 34 on each of the previous two days. No very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers passed through this strait either.