Ship traffic in Strait of Hormuz plummets after Iranian attack

Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy trade, saw a dramatic decline over the weekend. According to data from the shipping analytics firm Kpler, 29 vessels crossed the strait on Saturday and only 12 on Sunday. This represents a significant drop from Wednesday, when 70 ships were recorded—the highest number since the war in the Middle East began in late February, following the signing of a provisional memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US on June 15.

On Saturday morning, Iran attacked a Panama-flagged tanker while it was transiting the strait, leading to exchanges of fire between Iran and the US. The incident has cast doubt on the ability to implement the provisional agreement to end the war. Despite Iran's warning to ships to avoid its unauthorized shipping lanes, vessels continued using various routes over the weekend.

For several hours after the attack, ships kept using the southern corridor through Omani waters before traffic appeared to slow down, according to Kpler's MarineTraffic website. The site only tracks vessels with active transponders, meaning other ships may have crossed the gulf with their signals turned off.

Over the weekend, more ships entered the Persian Gulf than left it, reversing the trend from the previous week when efforts were focused on evacuating sailors trapped in the gulf. A UN-led operation to evacuate 11,000 sailors was suspended on Thursday after Iran attacked a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman. On Sunday, four tankers and one container ship used the Omani corridor to enter the gulf under escort by US Navy vessels, but no ship used that corridor to exit.

Iran announced on Monday that it had held its first meeting with Oman to discuss management of the strait. Washington has warned that it will not agree to the imposition of transit fees for the use of the international waterway.