Hormuz Traffic Plummets as Saudi Oil Flows Rise Amid Ongoing Tensions

Commodity vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz have declined significantly in recent weeks. According to Reuters, just a dozen commodity vessels made the passage this weekend, down from 35 tankers and other carriers that passed through the chokepoint a week earlier. This decline is attributed to Iran's tightening grip on movement in the waterway.

The data only includes tankers with their transponders switched on, as many choose to turn them off to avoid detection. Kpler data shows that over the week of September 13, just 13 very large crude carriers exited the strait, down from a 10-day moving average of 16 vessels.

However, according to JP Morgan, tanker traffic is improving in Saudi Arabia. The investment bank notes that 'Middle East oil flows remain surprisingly strong despite the disruption to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline,' and points out that Saudi Arabia has been exporting crude at a rate of 2.9 million barrels daily over the past six days via Hormuz.

Despite this improvement, the latest barrage of strikes on Saudi targets by Yemen's Houthi group has compromised flows of Saudi oil from the Red Sea port of Yanbu. This weekend saw a series of attacks, including one on the port of Yanbu, which became Saudi Arabia's primary outlet for crude oil after the Hormuz freeze.