Shipping through Strait of Hormuz remains largely stalled as only three ships pass

Singapore: Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained mostly at a standstill on Tuesday, with vessel tracking data showing that only three ships had crossed the waterway over the previous 24 hours.

The disruption comes amid a US blockade of Iranian ports, which has angered Tehran and led Iran to keep its own restrictions in place on the strait. Before the US and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28, the passage typically handled about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

MarineTraffic data showed that the Ean Spir products tanker, which had no known flag or ownership details, transited Hormuz on Tuesday after earlier calling at an Iraqi port. The same data showed that the Lian Star cargo vessel, also without a known flag or ownership, passed through the strait from an Iranian port.

Separately, satellite analysis by data analytics specialists SynMax showed that the Meda liquefied petroleum gas tanker crossed the strait on Monday after departing from a United Arab Emirates port in the Gulf. It was the vessel's second attempt to leave the Gulf after it had previously turned back.

That level of movement remains far below the roughly 140 ships a day that had been using the route before the conflict began. More than a dozen tankers had managed to pass through after Iran briefly said on Friday that the strait was open, but Tehran said on Saturday that it was closed and fired shots at vessels.

“Even vessels that seemingly check the publicly known boxes for successful transit through both blockades can find themselves in danger and unable to pass”, shipbroker BRS said in a note this week.

Thousands of seafarers remain stranded

Hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers are still stuck inside the Gulf and unable to sail.

Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the UN's shipping agency, said the safety of crews remained the central concern.

“We cannot put at risk the lives of the seafarers, Dominguez told reporters on the sidelines of Singapore's maritime week on Tuesday.

“We saw what happened last weekend, that on Friday, when some ships started to sail. Then there was an announcement that the strait was closed, and then some ships were actually targeted. Thankfully, we didn't have any casualties and there was no damage to the vessels.”

Iran's army said an Iranian tanker entered the country's territorial waters from the Arabian Sea on Monday with assistance from the Iranian Navy, despite what it described as repeated warnings and threats from the US naval task force.

BRS estimated that 61 supertankers not related to Iran were currently trapped inside the Gulf, including 50 carrying cargoes of as much as 2 million barrels each.

“At a time when the world is desperate for crude oil, an additional 2 million barrels slipping out of the Middle East Gulf would be gratefully received”, BRS said.

Ceasefire uncertainty adds to shipping risks

A ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to be under strain on Tuesday, with Tehran not committing to join new peace talks and the US military saying it had seized a tanker linked to Iran in international waters.

The continued uncertainty has added to the risks facing commercial shipping in one of the world's most important energy corridors.