Hormuz Traffic Slows To Two-Month Low Amid Renewed U.S. Iran Strikes

LONDON/SINGAPORE, July 13 (Reuters) – The number of tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a two-month low last day, shipping data showed on Monday, as renewed U.S.-Iran attacks and attacks on ships raised security concerns.

Shipping industry sources said ships were increasingly turning off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it difficult to determine the exact number of ships crossing the waterway.

Based on available data, oil and gas tanker traffic fell to its lowest level since May 25, according to Kpler’s analysis.

“The world will find itself in a much more difficult situation if renewed tensions in the Strait lead to a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” shipbroker Gibson said in a report.

“With global stocks rapidly depleting in recent months, this means much tighter supply, higher prices and significant downside risk for tanker markets.”

The Sea Faith oil products tanker was among several visible ships heading towards the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian side of the waterway, sailing towards the Sohar destination, according to ship tracking data from LSEG and MarineTraffic on Monday.

Iranian-flagged product tanker Niki departed separately from the Iranian side of the strait towards the entrance of the strait late Monday, according to separate data from MarineTraffic and LSEG.

The United States will likely take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be compensated for control of the vital waterway, President Donald Trump said Monday.

Commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz “continues at low levels,” the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in an advisory on Sunday.

“Traffic patterns continued to reflect operators’ vigilance following recent attacks.”

At least three pairs of tankers were involved in ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Hormuz, according to the latest satellite images dated July 11 reviewed by Reuters.

Ship-to-ship (STS) transfers typically involve the transfer of oil from one ship to another. Since the conflict began on February 28, STS transfers have enabled faster delivery of oil to waiting ships that do not need to pass through Hormuz.

“Some ships are coming in and out,” a shipping official said Monday.

“This should be seen as a controlled conflict, similar to the Houthis in the Red Sea right now,” the source said, referring to Yemeni militias that paralyzed traffic on the Bab al-Mandeb waterway for nearly two years before calling for a ceasefire in 2026.

US forces completed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, hitting dozens of targets in multiple locations with precision munitions, Central Command said.

US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic, but Iran had previously announced that it closed the strait because a ship was traveling on an unapproved route and was hit.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Monday that its navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz last night by shutting down their systems. They did not name the ships involved.

JMIC said a container ship was damaged by an unknown projectile that caused a fire in the engine room on Sunday.

Six ships passed through the strait on Sunday; Kpler’s ship tracking data showed the lowest figure in five weeks.

Data show that the tankers exiting the strait included Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil, and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying approximately 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, while three empty tankers also entered the Gulf to load oil. Most tankers turned off their transponders while passing through the strait.

In the ship tracking data, there were no liquefied natural gas tankers entering the Bosphorus over the weekend.

According to Kpler data, a tanker under the control of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co left the strait between July 10 and July 12. The ship was heading towards the Indian port of Dahej.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Florence Tan, Emily Chow, Siyi Liu and Trixie Yap; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Ros Russell)