Hormuz Shipping Volume Plummets Amid US-Iran Diplomatic Impasse

Commodity ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed significantly, according to data from Kpler. On Thursday, only seven ships sailed through the waterway, down from 14 on the previous day. The decrease is amid concerns about the risk to Middle East shipping as US-Iran peace talks remain stalled.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, handling nearly one-fifth of all crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the outbreak of war in February. However, on Thursday, none of the ships passing through were very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers.

One ship that did transit out of Hormuz via the Iranian route was a very large gas carrier carrying propane and butane. In contrast, traffic at the Bab el-Mandeb strait slowed slightly on Thursday, with 23 commodity ships transiting through compared to 34 on each of the previous two days.