Strait of Hormuz Shipping Rebounds as
US-Iran Ceasefire Holds Despite Fresh Strikes
Vessels stranded for months have started
moving in larger numbers, but many pulled back over the weekend after Iran and the
U.S. exchanged attacks.
·
Shipping
traffic through the Strait of Hormuz recovered on Monday, with 40 vessels transiting, up from 24
on Sunday, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.
·
Traffic
had slowed over the weekend following a renewed exchange of strikes between Iran
and the United States.
·
Vessel
movements have increased since the US-Iran ceasefire and the 60-day
negotiation period agreed to last week.
·
Last
Wednesday saw 76 ships pass through the strait, the highest daily count since March 1,
highlighting a strong rebound.
·
The Strait
of Hormuz remains a critical global chokepoint for oil and natural gas
shipments.
·
Hundreds
of vessels have remained stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran
effectively blockaded the waterway after US and Israeli strikes in late
February.
·
Iran
continues to direct ships to use a route close to its coastline, while
some vessels use an alternate route near Oman, often with assistance
from the US military.
·
On
Monday, traffic was roughly evenly divided between the Iranian coastal
route (mainly east-to-west voyages) and the Omani route (mainly west-to-east
voyages).
·
Many
ships switch off their transponders while crossing the strait, making it
difficult to accurately track routes and total traffic.
·
US and
Iranian negotiators are expected to meet in Qatar on Tuesday for another round of talks, though significant
differences remain over the future of Iran's nuclear programme.
Traffic
through the Strait of Hormuz bounced back on Monday after a weekend slowdown prompted
by a flare-up in strikes between Iran and the United States.
According
to data from Kpler, a maritime tracking firm, 40 ships
transited the waterway, up from 24 the previous day and 39 on Saturday.
Vessels
started moving in larger numbers last week after the United States and Iran agreed
to a cease-fire and a 60-day period of negotiations on a deal to end the war. Last
Wednesday, 76 ships moved through the strait, a critical route for oil and gas shipments,
the most since March 1.
Hundreds
of vessels have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran effectively blockaded
the waterway after the United States and Israel attacked it in late February. Iran
has insisted that ships now use a route near its coastline to go through the strait.
While many vessels have complied, others have been transiting along an alternate
route near the coastline of Oman, often with help from the U.S. military.
The
ships passing through the strait on Monday were roughly split between the Omani
route, which has mainly been used to travel from west to east, and the Iranian route,
which has primarily been a route for ships going from east to west. But many ships
switch off their transponders before passing through the strait, making it difficult
to identify the details of the route that they have taken and giving a partial picture
of traffic volumes.
U.S.
and Iranian negotiators are expected to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday for a new round
of talks. The two countries remain far apart on important issues, including the
future of Iran’s nuclear program.