Only one oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, marking the lowest level of traffic through the vital oil chokepoint since May 7, as escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed crude prices to circa $100 per barrel.
According to vessel-tracking data from Kpler, cited by Reuters, tanker movements through the strait fell sharply from three vessels on Wednesday to just one on Thursday.
The sole outbound vessel was the New Giant, a supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, which departed the Gulf and is expected to arrive at Rizhao Port in China by mid-August.
No oil tanker entered the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, highlighting growing caution among shipowners as security risks mount in one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.
While traffic through Hormuz slowed dramatically, shipping activity in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait remained relatively resilient despite continued attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and threats to blockade Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export route.
