Hormuz Traffic Remains Depressed, OilPrice.com Says

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below recent averages as Iran and Oman discuss a temporary shipping corridor in the key chokepoint that could lead to an interim reopening, Tsvetana Paraskova reported for OilPrice.com.

Shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz remains depressed amid efforts by Iran and Oman to establish a temporary corridor through the strategic waterway.

Only five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, roughly the same number as on Monday but well below the 10-day average of 15 vessels, according to preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler.

Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one tanker carrying bitumen transited outbound, while two empty product tankers moved inbound from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian Gulf, according to the Kpler data cited by Reuters.

The figures could change because some vessels switch off their transponders while passing through the waterway, making their movements more difficult to track.

Iran and Oman have resumed discussions on managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries said they had explored creating a temporary joint shipping corridor and agreed to remove mines from the waterway.

ING Economics cautioned that the agreement would not by itself mean a normalization of oil flows through the chokepoint.

The bank said further measures, including the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports and an easing of sanctions on Iran, would likely be necessary before flows could normalize.