Hormuz Strait Traffic Drops Amid Middle East Tensions
The Strait of Hormuz has seen a significant decline in vessel traffic over the weekend, as tensions persist in the Middle East. According to shipping data, only a dozen commodity vessels transited the strait on Sunday, down from 35 the previous weekend.
Before the US-Israeli war with Iran started on February 28, the strait typically handled about 125 large commercial vessels per day. The drop in traffic is a concern for Middle Eastern producers, who continue to export oil on tankers travelling with their transponders off.
Of the trackable ships, four vessels exited the strait on Sunday - two tankers carrying refined oil products and two empty carriers for bulk goods and gas. Another two small-sized oil tankers entered the Gulf over the weekend.