Hormuz tanker traffic hits two-month low as tensions roil oil markets

Only one oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, marking the lowest level of traffic through the vital oil chokepoint since May 7, as escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed crude prices to circa $100 per barrel.

According to vessel-tracking data from Kpler, cited by Reuters, tanker movements through the strait fell sharply from three vessels on Wednesday to just one on Thursday.

The sole outbound vessel was the New Giant, a supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, which departed the Gulf and is expected to arrive at Rizhao Port in China by mid-August.

No oil tanker entered the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, highlighting growing caution among shipowners as security risks mount in one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.

While traffic through Hormuz slowed dramatically, shipping activity in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait remained relatively resilient despite continued attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and threats to blockade Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export route.

However, vessel-tracking data showed that some tankers altered course in the Red Sea, heading north toward the Suez Canal to avoid passing through areas vulnerable to Houthi attacks.

Such diversions significantly increase voyage times, with shipments travelling through the Suez Canal and around the southern tip of Africa taking as much as three times longer to reach Asian markets than cargoes moving directly through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The deteriorating security situation has also prompted Saudi Aramco to adjust its export strategy. After rerouting much of its crude away from the Strait of Hormuz via the Red Sea in recent months, the state oil giant has reportedly begun offering crude cargoes for loading at Sidi Kerir, its export terminal on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

Analysts said the growing instability across both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb has significantly increased risks to global oil supplies.

“Further escalation in the Persian Gulf and fears of a widening conflict are putting a significant amount of oil supply at risk,” analysts at ING said in a research note, pointing to Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers and fresh threats by US President Donald Trump against Iran.

The twin threats to the Middle East’s principal oil shipping routes have reinforced concerns that any further escalation could tighten global crude supplies and keep oil prices elevated.