The apparent slowdown in ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on weekends has re-pressed this most important global crude oil transport route. The latest data from the shipping intelligence company, Windward, show that the traffic in the Straits has declined from the previous day, indicating that access has again been hampered after a short recovery last week.
Sunday traffic dropped to 12
According to Windward, a total of 12 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, down from more than 21 on the previous day. Of the eight vessels entering the Strait, five are in a “black ship” state, that is, closing the AIS automatic identification system to hide their location, identity and destination.
According to the Agency, the current traffic features are closer to the baseline status of the post-block period, rather than a normally open strait. As Kpper also mentioned last week, at least 20 tankers pass through the strait on Thursday, the highest level since 2 June, but still significantly below the average of over 100 vessels on the day before the war.
The American side denies it.
On Saturday, Iran indicated that it had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Israel ' s continued deadly strikes in southern Lebanon and its violations of the ceasefire arrangements. However, observations by several shipping tracking agencies are not entirely consistent.
The analysis released by Lloyd's List on Monday stated that commercial vessels continued to pass through the Strait during the weekend and did not stop completely. According to the Agency, as of Saturday night at least 15 Suez tankers flying the Iranian flag and super-large crude oil transport vessels were leaving the direction of the Gulf of Oman and the AIS signal remained open.
The United States military, for its part, directly denied Iran ' s assertion that the waterway remained open and stated that Iran did not control the Strait of Hormuz.
Mei continues his consultations in Switzerland.
At a time when the passage of the Straits was again tightening, talks between the United States and Iraq continued on Sunday at a mountainous resort in Switzerland in an attempt to advance the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed last week. Citing officials involved in the negotiations, the report stated that the parties had made some progress towards a final agreement within 60 days and had agreed to establish a commission and related mechanisms to facilitate an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
Under the memorandum of understanding, the parties had agreed to restore the Strait of Hormuz free of tolls for at least 60 days and to cease hostilities, including in Lebanon. Iran ' s Foreign Minister, Aragzi, stated that the Iraqi side had secured oil and petrochemical export exemptions, the lifting of the port blockade, the partial freezing of assets and the launching of reconstruction and development plans.
The President of the United States, Trump, warned before the talks in Switzerland that if Iran failed to immediately restrain its proxies in Lebanon, the United States might again launch a stronger strike against Iran. The return of more stable passage through the Strait will continue to depend on the progress of the negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran and whether the situation in Lebanon cools.