Hormuz transits at lowest in over two months after attacks, data shows
USO•Seven commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the lowest tally since July 23, while crude flows fell 27% from a wartime high to at least 10.1 million barrels per day. Exports from the Gulf of Oman coast and the Red Sea rose to 6.7 million bpd.
1. Fewer ships cross Hormuz
Seven commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the lowest number since July 23, Kpler data showed. The tally rose to 10 on Wednesday, below the more than 20 recorded on Sunday and Monday. LSEG data showed eight ships crossed on Tuesday, down from 14 a day earlier.
2. Crude flows shift
Crude crossing the strait fell 27% from a wartime high the week before to at least 10.1 million barrels per day, Kpler analysts said in an October 6 note. That was back to the September average but 74% of the pre-war level. The analysts said most of the decline came from ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman.
3. Other exports rise
Exports from the Gulf of Oman coast and the Red Sea rose to 6.7 million bpd, more than twice pre-war levels, helping keep overall Middle East crude exports at the pre-war level, Kpler analysts said. Tanker attacks reached their highest weekly level since the Iran war began, maritime security sources said. Before the war began on February 28, about 125 large commercial vessels crossed the strait daily.
