Observable traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz remained at a trickle as attacks on ves
sels 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 exp
losions 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 hav
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e 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 tran
sponder 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 domin
ated 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
