Hormuz Strait: Ship Traffic Fell Sharply on September 17
Four cargo ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. The figure was significantly below the average of about 16 ships per day over the past ten days.
Yulduz Salimov2 min read
On Thursday, September 17, four cargo ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, significantly below the average of about 16 ships per day over the previous ten days. A day earlier, six ships crossed the strait.
According to data from shipping-tracking company Kepler, available up to 02:00 GMT, three ships were heading toward the Persian Gulf and another had left it. The data remains preliminary: some vessels switch off tracking systems while underway to avoid detection in the conflict zone.
Before the war in Iran began, about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Three liquefied natural gas tankers also appeared beyond the strait on Thursday. The data does not establish when they passed through. The Al-Daayen tanker was carrying a cargo loaded at Ras Laffan in Qatar; it was last tracked inside the strait on September 13. The Al-Samriya tanker, carrying a cargo from Ras Laffan, was last observed there on September 14. Al-Samriya is operated by QatarEnergy, while C-Pik is the owner of Al-Daayen. The third tanker, Merigold LNG, is operated by Kratos Gas Transport and, according to the data, is heading toward Dabhol in India.
In a report published on Wednesday, Vortexa said that the QatarEnergy-linked Al-Rayyan tanker transferred its cargo to another Qatari tanker off the coast of Oman without its tracking system switched on. The timing of the operation was not specified. Kepler data shows that on September 13, Al-Rayyan carried out a cargo transfer operation with the Al-Mashbiah tanker.
Twenty-three cargo ships passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday: 13 were heading toward the Red Sea, while 10 were heading toward the Gulf of Aden. This was below the average of about 26 ships per day over the previous ten days.
The situation is developing against the backdrop of an expansion of the conflict into Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Iran-aligned Houthis established control over the Yemeni coastline near the Red Sea, after which the BBC reported that Saudi Arabia carried out strikes on targets in Yemen. This raised fresh concerns about oil supplies along the Red Sea route, which had been the main alternative route for exports from Persian Gulf countries amid restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: skynewsarabia.com
