London, Aug. 19 (SANA) Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed as most shipowners continued avoiding the vital waterway amid uncertainty over its reopening, according to data released Wednesday by maritime shipping analytics company Kpler.
Kpler data, cited by Reuters, showed that six commodity vessels crossed the strait Tuesday, down from nine the previous day and below the 10-day average of 11 vessels.
Inbound traffic included an empty very large crude carrier that sailed along the Omani side of the strait, as well as two tankers. Two medium-range fuel tankers and a post-Panamax vessel exited the strait.
At the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, Kpler data showed 30 transits by commodity vessels early this week, up from 19 the previous week. No Saudi oil shipments were tracked.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington was not holding talks with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting an earlier Iranian statement that the waterway remained closed to maritime traffic.
Tanker-tracking company Vortexa said two major Chinese shipping companies, which had transported half of China’s Middle Eastern oil imports before the war, decided to keep their tankers away from the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab straits since late July as escalating tensions restricted oil shipments to the world’s largest importer.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz normally ranged between 130 and 140 vessels before the waterway was closed amid the war in the Middle East.
T.S /M.F
