Maritime tracking firm Kpler reported that just six vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the lowest daily count in five weeks, according to Reuters. The sharp decline comes amid renewed US-Iran strikes that have raised safety risks for shipping in the strategic waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz saw its lowest daily traffic in five weeks on Sunday, with only six vessels transiting the waterway, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler as reported by Reuters. The figure marks a new low in the ongoing disruption to shipping through the strategic chokepoint, which has been under severe pressure since the escalation of US-Iran strikes.
The Zioneer has tracked the deterioration in Strait of Hormuz traffic since early July. On Thursday, July 9, at 09:14 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that maritime traffic had nearly halted, citing Bloomberg data. In a separate dispatch that same day, The Zioneer noted that the disruption had persisted for 72 hours, and that only five ships had completed the passage via Iran's northern route in the past day, with some vessels disabling their AIS systems to avoid detection. Additional tracking data cited by The Zioneer on Saturday, July 11, confirmed the sharp drop in transit numbers.
The broader context of the crisis has been documented by The Zioneer over the past weeks: from the initial reports of traffic drops in early June, to the opening of an alternative Omani route and subsequent Iranian threats against it, to the strikes on Gulf tankers reported on July 7. The latest data suggests that despite some recovery in mid-June — when traffic rose to 258 vessels in a week, according to AP — safety concerns have once again driven transit numbers to near-zero levels.
It remains unclear whether the slowdown reflects a deliberate Iranian blockade, voluntary avoidance by shipping companies, or a combination of both. The Kpler data, as relayed by Reuters, does not distinguish between vessels that chose not to enter the strait and those that were prevented from doing so.
4 developments
- DevelopingEight vessels transited Strait of Hormuz over weekend, maritime tracker reports
- StrongAP: Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic rose to 258 vessels last week
- DevelopingStrait of Hormuz tanker traffic remains far below pre-crisis levels in June
- Developing25 commercial vessels cross Strait of Hormuz on Thursday — highest since mid-April
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