Hormuz Strait sees just nine ships amid war fears

Only nine oil tankers, cargo vessels and container ships — some of which intermittently concealed their positions — have been recorded crossing the Strait of Hormuz since Monday, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by AFP.

Following attacks on three ships on Sunday, at least three tankers and a vessel carrying gas have passed through the strategic chokepoint.

Normally, nearly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and around 20 per cent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

AFP counted only vessels that transmitted at least one signal on either side of the strait, excluding ships that may have travelled with their tracking signals fully switched off for extended periods.

Attacks on vessels navigating the waterway have increased since Sunday, raising fears of a prolonged impact on the global economy as the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran – and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf – disrupt the global energy sector.

“Some tankers are still travelling east and west through the strait, with a number of voyages occurring under AIS blackouts,” said Matt Wright, an analyst at Kpler, which publishes MarineTraffic data.

One example is the tanker Kavomaleas, which transmitted a signal east of the strait on 3 March and another in the Gulf around 14 hours later.

Sanctioned ships

Another vessel — a 130-metre container ship registered in Panama — departed from Pakistan on Monday. After reaching the entrance to the Gulf on Wednesday night, it entered the strait on Thursday morning.

The Pushpak, a tanker designed to transport petroleum products, left the Gulf on Thursday evening after departing from a port in Iraq.

The Hout, a cargo vessel registered in Comoros, sailed from Dubai on Tuesday bound for a port in south-eastern Iran.

The Danuta I, a 225-metre natural gas carrier under US sanctions, crossed the Strait of Hormuz at dawn on Friday.

The Athina, identified by the Financial Times, was east of the strait on 28 February and transmitted its position west of Hormuz on 1 March. It later loaded oil in Bahrain before resuming its journey towards the strait but has not transmitted any signal since Thursday afternoon.

According to the Financial Times, it is one of at least five ships belonging to Dynacom that have crossed the strait since the war began, all with their transponders switched off.

Most carriers have suspended operations, and the passage remains hazardous. The Safeen Prestige was struck by projectiles while sailing east from the Gulf on Tuesday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.