Hormuz Strait shipping traffic declines after Saturday vessel strike
via Punch Nigeria1 min read
Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz decreased over the weekend following a vessel strike on Saturday and renewed exchanges between the United States and Iran. According to Kpler, 29 commodity vessels crossed on Saturday, but only 12 transited on Sunday. This marks a significant drop from the previous week, when a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington on June 15 had boosted traffic to 70 crossings on Wednesday, the highest since the start of the Middle East war. Despite Iran's warnings, vessels continued to use various routes through the waterway. After the Saturday morning strike, ships initially used a southern corridor through Omani waters for several hours before traffic slowed. More ships entered the Gulf than departed over the weekend, reversing a trend from the previous week focused on evacuating seafarers. A UN-led evacuation of 11,000 seafarers was suspended on Thursday after another vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman. On Sunday, four tankers and a container ship entered the Gulf via the southern Omani corridor, escorted by US Navy vessels, though no vessels exited through this route. Iran announced Monday that it held its first meeting with Oman to discuss managing the strait, amid warnings from Washington that it will not accept transit fees for what it considers an international waterway.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
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