Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb remained largely unchanged at the start of the week, as uncertainty surrounding US-Iran negotiations continued to weigh on activity across two of the world’s most strategically important maritime routes, Reuters reported.
Citing maritime analytics firm Kpler, Reuters said 20 vessels, comprising 12 tankers and eight bulk carriers, transited the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on Monday. The figure was unchanged from Sunday.
Shipping activity through the route has remained well below earlier levels since the Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, launching attacks on several Saudi tankers and oil facilities and opening a new front in the war. In the week before the blockade was announced, crossings through Bab al-Mandeb averaged about 41 vessels a day.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz also remained subdued. According to Reuters, six vessels comprising three tankers and three bulk carriers passed through the waterway on Monday, down from seven the previous day.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz handled about 130 vessels a day, highlighting the sharp decline in shipping activity through the critical global energy corridor.