Strait of Hormuz traffic falls, Kpler data show

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen since Wednesday, with six commodity tankers crossing by 1430 GMT on Thursday, according to Kpler data cited by analysts.

Kpler data showed 21 such vessels transited the waterway on Wednesday. The only lower daily traffic since a mid-June US-Iran truce was June 28, when 19 commodity vessels crossed a day after a tanker was attacked off Oman.

Traffic had reached its highest level since the start of the war after the truce, although flows remained at about a third of peacetime levels. Analysts said the recovery now appeared to have stalled after vessels were attacked earlier in the week and the United States and Iran traded renewed strikes.

US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over on Wednesday but left open the possibility of more talks.

Most ships crossing since Wednesday either switched off transponders or used the northern Iranian route, which requires Iranian approval. The southern Omani route, used in recent weeks by many vessels not linked to Iran, has been largely avoided.

MarineTraffic showed no ships had crossed on that route so far on Thursday, but the website only shows vessels with transponders switched on, meaning more vessels may have passed with signals off.

Iran has said it opposes the Omani route. Two of three vessels attacked between Monday and Tuesday were near it when they were hit.

International Maritime Organization chief Arsenio Dominguez urged shipowners and operators on Wednesday to avoid exposing 6,000 seafarers still stranded in the Gulf to unnecessary danger by transiting the strait.

Shipping analysts AXSMarine said Thursday that it detected 689 merchant vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz, down from 1,061 in early March.