On July 13, shipping data from Kpler reported a significant drop in vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, with only six ships navigating the strait on Sunday, marking the lowest traffic in five weeks. The diminished activity comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have raised serious safety concerns for maritime operations in the region.
Among the vessels that departed the strait were the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil, and the Capetan Andreas, loaded with approximately 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products. Meanwhile, three empty tankers entered the Gulf to pick up oil, but many vessels reportedly turned off their transponders during their transit. Notably, no liquefied natural gas tankers were sighted entering the strait over the weekend.
In recent military developments, U.S. forces conducted precision strikes against Iranian targets; President Trump reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial traffic. However, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have halted two vessels in the strait, effectively signaling the ongoing volatility in this crucial maritime route.
