Fewer vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, shipping data showed, in the first full day after the United States reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, amid an escalating military confrontation between Washington and Tehran across the Gulf.
Seven vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 the previous day, Kpler data showed.
Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are keeping ships from travelling through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war.
On Wednesday, four empty vessels entered the Gulf, including three small oil tankers and a dry bulk carrier for grains, the data showed. The three vessels that exited the strait on Wednesday carried liquefied petroleum gas, coal and fuel oil. On Tuesday, a Suezmax tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Saudi crude exited the strait with its transponder switched off, Kpler data showed. There were no Very Large Crude Carrier or liquefied natural gas tankers passing through the strait on Wednesday.
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