Tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz rose over the past 24 hours for the first time since late last week, when two attacks on commercial vessels spooked many operators and forced others to wait for the easing of the tensions before moving to transit the chokepoint.
A total of 24 commodity vessels, including tankers, LNG and LPG carriers and bulk carriers, transited the Strait of Hormuz inbound and outbound on Monday, according to Kpler’s ship-tracking data reviewed by Bloomberg.
Still, total traffic at Hormuz remains 90% lower than the over 130 vessels that used to transit the Strait every day before the war.
More vessels moved inbound into the Persian Gulf than those that existed, with several supertankers entering the Gulf on Monday. This suggests that oil producers and shipowners have grown increasingly optimistic that these tankers will later be able to make the outbound trip via Hormuz fully laden with crude.
Traffic at the Strait of Hormuz had stalled over the weekend as vessel owners and operators remained cautious amid the renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States.
On Friday and Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes against multiple targets in Iran, in response to attacks on two vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks on commercial vessels and the U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iran continue to test not only the fragile ceasefire, but also the willingness of shipowners and operators to press on with transits through Hormuz.
The latest sign of increasing supply is the rise in tanker traffic, most of all the inbound vessels that moved to load oil at the Persian Gulf ports.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar continue loading oil and LNG onto vessels at their Persian Gulf ports despite the tensions over the weekend.
Iran is also observed to have renewed loadings from Kharg Island, its key oil export port in the Gulf, after the U.S. waived the sanctions on Iranian oil sales, including in U.S. dollars, until August 21.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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