Reuters reports that oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a near standstill, according to data and sources, as shipping risks have escalated after the US renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf.
Just two tankers have so far sailed through the strait in the early hours, including the crude supertanker Berg 1, which had loaded at Iran’s Kharg Island and is subject to US sanctions, according to analysis from Kpler.
The Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker Well Sail also transited the strait, Kpler analysis shows. Its previous loading destination was near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, according to LSEG ship tracking data.
Shipping industry sources say vessels are increasingly switching off their public automatic identification system tracking transponders, making it harder to see all of the ships crossing.
“Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has essentially stopped, which tells you more about risk perception right now than any statement from Washington or Tehran,” Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, writes in a report.
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