Strait of Hormuz Ship Traffic Remains Below 10-Day Average
Gulf ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained significantly below its recent average on Tuesday, with only five commodity vessels transiting the key waterway, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday.
According to initial data from ship-tracking company Kpler, the five vessels were well below the 10-day average of 15 commodity vessels. The latest figure was only slightly higher than Monday's total of four vessels.
Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one tanker carrying bitumen exited the Gulf through the strait. Two empty product tankers entered the waterway from the Gulf of Oman, the data showed.
Strait of Hormuz Traffic Remains Low
The figures were recorded at 0408 GMT and could change as additional vessel movements are identified.
Kpler noted that some ships typically switch off their location transponders while at sea, meaning preliminary tracking data may not capture every transit through the waterway.
The relatively low level of shipping activity comes amid continued uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime route for commodity and energy shipments.
Bab el-Mandeb Traffic Near 10-Day Average
Traffic through another major maritime chokepoint in the Middle East, the Bab el-Mandeb, was comparatively stable.
Kpler data showed that 31 commodity vessels transited the waterway, up slightly from 29 the previous day. The figure was broadly in line with the 10-day average.
Iran and Oman Discuss Shipping Corridor
The shipping data comes as Iran said it had resumed discussions with Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz amid increased economic pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Iran and Oman said on Tuesday that they had explored the possibility of establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor and had agreed to remove mines from the waterway.
However, analysts at ING Economics cautioned that the talks alone may not be enough to restore normal shipping and oil flows through the strategic chokepoint.
“Any agreement between these two parties does not mean we will see normalisation in oil flows through the key chokepoint,” ING Economics said in a note.
The bank added that normalisation would likely require the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports and ease sanctions on Iran before oil flows could return to normal.
For now, the latest shipping data indicates that commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below its recent 10-day average, highlighting continued uncertainty around the key Middle East waterway.
Source: Reuters
