Strait of Hormuz Traffic Begins to Recover, 25 Ships Transit in a Day

Commercial ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz rose to its highest level since early June, with 25 vessels transiting the strategic waterway on Thursday after a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran came into effect, covering the reopening of the strait and the lifting of the US maritime blockade on Iran. Iran and the US reached a 14-point agreement on 14 June through negotiations mediated by Pakistan to end the war and resolve disputes through dialogue. The document, known as the Islamabad Memorandum, took effect on 18 June after being digitally signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump. The agreement includes provisions for a cessation of hostilities, including in Lebanon, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of the US maritime blockade against Iran. The strait became a focus of market concern after commercial traffic slowed sharply following the start of US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. According to data compiled by Anadolu from analytics firms Kpler and MarineTraffic, 25 ships carrying LNG, crude oil, oil products, fertiliser, dry bulk cargo, and containers transited the strait on Thursday. Nine of these vessels were identified as fully laden. Four very large crude carriers alone transported at least eight million barrels of crude oil through the strait. Three VLCCs carried 6.2 million barrels of Saudi crude, with more than four million barrels destined for Japan and South Korea. The destination of 2.1 million barrels aboard the Saudi-flagged tanker Jaham remains unknown. The VLCC Tenzan, carrying 1.8 million barrels of crude from the United Arab Emirates, was also sailing towards Japan. The French-flagged LNG carrier Mraikh transported 169,000 cubic metres of LNG from Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility to Pakistan. The Hong Kong-flagged tanker Tong Lin Wan carried 592,000 barrels of clean petroleum products from the UAE to Singapore. Two fully laden dry bulk carriers transiting the strait were transporting fertiliser to India and China. MarineTraffic data showed 12 commercial ships crossed the strait on 14 June, followed by 10 on 15 June, 14 on 16 June, and seven on 17 June. Since the war began on 28 February, many commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz have been recorded as being under sanctions or identified as part of the so-called shadow fleet. A significant number of recent voyages have also been conducted through Iranian territorial waters, a route commonly referred to as the Iran route.