Commodities
Hormuz Traffic Slows Amid Vessel Attacks
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has slowed significantly following reports of vessel attacks. The number of commodity vessels passing through the strait fell to 10 on Saturday, down from 19 on Friday.
Two tankers carrying Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, but traffic in the Red Sea was also disrupted. The Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, expanding attacks on tankers beyond the Gulf.
The Suezmax tanker Lesvos and Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav exited the Red Sea with their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders switched off. The Lesvos was carrying about 1 million barrels of Saudi crude, while the Desh Vaibhav is heading to India's Sikka port.