Hormuz traffic stays low
Reuters reported that two medium-range tankers, a Kamsarmax carrier and a Handysize vessel made up the figure, with Kpler data shown by 0455 GMT on Friday.
The Reuters report said the figure excludes vessels that might have crossed with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.
Before the Iran war started on February 28, Reuters said about 125 large commercial vessels went through the strait each day, including tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container vessels, making up a fifth of global daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
Reuters also said a U.S. blockade of Iran-related shipping has halted Iranian crude oil exports since it was reimposed in mid-July.
Prices rise on tensions
Oil prices were heading on Friday for their steepest weekly gain since mid-July as rising tension and renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities heightened concerns over Middle East supply risks, Reuters reported.
Reuters said so far this week, Kpler data showed only two very large crude carriers crossed the strait, underscoring how limited traffic has been during the renewed fighting.
Al-Manar TV LebanonIn a separate report, NBC News said Iran launched strikes on ships and demanded tolls from vessels transiting the crucial waterway in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28.
NBC News added that Tehran has also suggested it may have mined the strait and that Iranian media has published a map from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy suggesting safe inbound and outbound routes through the strait.
Ripple effects beyond Hormuz
Al Jazeera said the Panama Canal Authority set a cap of 34 vessels permitted to sail daily through the canal from Thursday, with the cap dropping further to 32 on September 15.
Al Jazeera linked the Hormuz crisis to increased rerouting, saying Gulf producers unable to export as much oil through the Strait of Hormuz as they did before the war—about 20 million barrels of oil per day (bpd)—were turning to North and South America.
The same Al Jazeera report said the rise in cargo needing to be shipped through the canal is creating a bidding war for transit slots, with average auction prices for transit slots jumping three-fold from $55,000 between October last year and February this year.
Al Jazeera quoted Niels Rasmussen of BIMCO saying, “Reduced cargo capacity, combined with higher auction prices for transit slots, is likely to push freight rates higher,” as Peter Sand of Xeneta told Al Jazeera the impact is likely to play out over the next six to nine months.