Strait of Hormuz traffic slows after a Taiwanese-operated ship was hit near Oman

LONDON: Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed on Friday after a Taiwanese-operated ship was hit near Oman, ship-tracking data showed, though some tankers continued to enter the Gulf to load crude.

Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said its ship was struck near Oman by an unknown object. United States officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the vessel.

The incident led the United Nations shipping agency to temporarily pause its voluntary scheme to evacuate hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers from the Gulf.

Despite the disruption, at least four tankers, including three very large crude carriers, entered the Gulf on Friday to load oil, according to ship-tracking data from LSEG and MarineTraffic. Each VLCC can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.

Separate shipping data showed two supertankers also entered the strait to load Iranian oil. Kpler analysis showed another tanker exited the strait through the Omani side with 2 million barrels of oil.

Tanker traffic, including crude oil, oil products and chemical tankers, stood at 13 transits in both directions on Friday, down from 24 on Thursday and 27 on Wednesday, according to Kpler. Wednesday’s figure was the highest since before the conflict began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Overall sailings, including dry bulk ships, reached 62 transits on June 24, the highest single-day count since the conflict began, according to AXSMarine. The figure was 53 per cent of traffic recorded on the same day last year.

Before the conflict, average daily sailings through the Strait of Hormuz stood at around 125 ships.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said safe passage through the strait could not be guaranteed without coordination with Tehran.

Shipping association BIMCO said the attack had complicated efforts to evacuate ships and restore traffic through the waterway, although some transits were still expected.

Oil buyers have been trying to secure supplies after months of disruption linked to the Iran war and following a ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran.

Crude prices fell by more than 3 per cent on Friday and were headed for steep weekly losses as supply concerns eased. Saudi Arabia also resumed loadings in the Gulf, adding to expectations of higher supply.