Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz experienced a notable decline on September 10, with only seven vessels reported passing, according to preliminary ship-tracking data. This marks a decrease from twelve the previous day and falls below the ten-day average of fourteen vessels. Out of the seven ships, four departed the strait while three made their entrance. It is important to note that some ships might traverse the waterway without their transponders active, which could lead to an undercounting of the total vessels.
Among the ships that exited, a significant departure was the very large crude carrier, Finland Prosperity, which was carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil. There were no departures of tankers transporting liquefied natural gas. The remaining exits included two dry bulk carriers and a short-range dirty products tanker. Conversely, of the vessels that entered, one was a dry bulk carrier, with the other two being a short-range and a medium-range tanker.
In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the shipping activity mirrored the previous trend, as 28 commodity ships transited the area, aligning closely with the 10-day average of 27. Among these, 16 ships entered while 12 exited. Meanwhile, at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, crude and condensate loadings saw a rebound in September, climbing to 3.7 million barrels per day, up from a six-month low of 3.2 million barrels per day recorded in August. This recovery is noteworthy given the significant drop caused by escalating attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
