Hormuz Traffic at a Trickle as Ship Attacks Heighten Concerns

Observable traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz remained at a trickle as attacks on vessels and Iranian threats heightened safety concerns for shipowners and crews considering a trip through the waterway.

Shipping activity was subdued on Tuesday after six smaller vessels crossed in both directions on Monday with their transponders on near Iran, including bulk carriers and liquefied petroleum gas tankers, according to data from Kpler. One empty crude tanker, a US-sanctioned Aframax called Tiyara, transited dark into the Persian Gulf after idling off Oman’s coast since early July.

Maritime safety in the region has deteriorated after a series of attacks in recent days, including on a cargo ship overnight. On Sunday, the oil supertanker Egypt Prosperity aborted an attempt to exit the Persian Gulf following direct threats over radio, while its crew reported hearing explosions nearby, according to alerts issued by security consultancies seen by Bloomberg News.

The very large crude carrier is laden with Iraqi crude and was bound for China, with the vessel now sitting off Dubai, ship-tracking data shows. The VLCC is controlled by South Korea’s Sinokor Group. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Still, crude is exiting the Persian Gulf, mostly on tankers that have switched off their transponders, while empty vessels are transiting in dark. Four VLCCs have crossed Hormuz since the weekend, according to data from Vortexa, and are set to pick up cargoes from the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Qatar.

In the Red Sea, VLCC Bahla entered the waterway via Bab el-Mandeb on Monday with its transponder on after idling in the Gulf of Oman since early July. Some tankers have been pivoting from the waters around Hormuz to the Red Sea in recent days, due to the uncertainty around shipping near the Persian Gulf.

Overall, observable traffic transiting in both directions through Bab el-Mandeb has been dominated by dry-bulk ships, with only one Russian crude cargo sailing out into the Gulf of Aden on Monday.

In other shipping developments:

Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman

• Eight commodity vessels crossed in either direction on Monday, compared with seven on Sunday: Kpler, which may revise data as more information is available
  • Six transited with transponders on, two without
• Fully-laden VLCC Argentina B appeared in the Fujairah anchorage on Tuesday after last signaling from within the Persian Gulf

Southern and Northern Red Sea

• Twenty-one commodity commodity vessels crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait in either direction on Monday: Kpler
• VLCC Sea Majesty that had entered the Red Sea via the chokepoint late last week has re-appeared at the entrance to the Suez Canal fully laden
• More empty tankers are signaling Sidi Kerir, an Egyptian port in the Mediterranean Sea that’s known to export Saudi crude, with a South Korean-owned supertanker sailing through the Indian Ocean now appearing to make the journey around Africa to reach the port.

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