DUBAI: A total of 25 commercial vessels crossed the newly-reopened Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the highest number since mid-April, according to data from maritime tracking firm AXSMarine published on Friday.
The spike came after Iran and the United States agreed to reopen the crucial route under an agreement to end the war, but before the cancelation of talks between the sides in Switzerland that had been planned under that deal.
On June 18 “we observed 25 verified commercial vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz — the highest single-day count since 18 April and more than five times the average daily level recorded during the first ten days of June,” AXSMarine said in a news release.
Iranian forces effectively closed off the strait after US and Israeli strikes sparked the war on February 28. Maritime authorities reported dozens of attacks on ships in the area.
Iran later briefly reopened the global trade artery to commercial traffic, prompting a short spike in crossings on April 18.
