Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Thursday, down from 11 the day before and well below a 10-day average of 15, according to preliminary ship-tracking data reported by Reuters and carried by the Daily Mirror on Friday.
The figure is a fraction of normal. Before the Iran war began on 28 February, the strait typically handled about 125 large commercial vessels a day — tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container ships — accounting for roughly 20% of the world’s daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
What actually moved
Of Thursday’s seven vessels, two Panamax ships exited the strait, one carrying fertiliser and one sailing in ballast, per data from ship tracker Kpler as of 0306 GMT.
Five entered: a Panamax carrying dry bulk, a Handysize laden with steel, a Handysize carrying grains, a medium-range tanker loaded with dirty petroleum products, and a Supramax carrying dry bulk.
Not a single crude tanker or LNG carrier was recorded exiting the waterway that day. The count excludes any vessel that crossed with its Automatic Identification System transponder switched off to avoid detection, so the true figure may be higher — by how much, nobody can say.
Iranian crude exports have been halted since a US blockade of Iran-related shipping was reimposed in mid-July, the report says. That followed the US strikes on five Iranian tankers enforcing the blockade.
Qatari gas is moving again, barely
Three QatarEnergy-linked vessels feature in the week’s tracking data. Two in ballast — the Al Ghashamiya and the Al Daayen — appeared inside the strait on 9 and 6 September respectively, having last been seen outside it on 6 and 3 September.
A third, the QatarEnergy-controlled Al Marrouna, exited the strait and delivered a cargo from Ras Laffan to Pakistan on 10 September. Reuters describes it as the first known LNG shipment aboard a Qatar-linked tanker since late July, when the Al Areesh made the same Ras Laffan–Pakistan run. QatarEnergy did not respond to a request for comment.
The Red Sea alternative is holding steadier
Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait was comparatively normal on Thursday: 26 commodity vessels passed through, 10 entering and 16 exiting, against an average of about 27 over the preceding 10 days.
That is despite Houthi forces seizing the Yemeni port city of Mocha on Thursday and advancing down the Red Sea coast towards strategic islands. The Houthi blockade declared in July applies to Saudi-linked vessels rather than to shipping generally, which is consistent with traffic near its 10-day norm.
Why it matters here
Sri Lanka imports effectively all of its crude and refined fuel, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s Gulf-sourced cargoes transit Hormuz. Brent breached US$100 a barrel on Tuesday and reached US$108 by Thursday, the highest since May. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka told Parliament on Friday that no electricity tariff increase is expected next quarter, citing stronger hydro generation rather than fuel costs.
Not reported
The report gives no figure for crude or LNG volumes still moving through Hormuz, no estimate of how many vessels are running with transponders off, and no indication of whether transits are expected to recover. It does not say whether any shipping line has formally suspended Gulf calls, what war-risk insurance premiums now stand at, or what the reduced flow means for delivered cargo prices in South Asia.
