Strait of Hormuz traffic remains low as only Iran-linked ships transit

Only Iran-linked vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz April 20 as traffic levels stayed low amid the Middle East conflict, according to an April 21 report from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

According to the report, 14 ships transited the strait on April 20, eight of which had exited the narrow waterway while six had entered it.

Hormuz traffic has been at around 10% of prewar levels after 29 vessels exited the strait over the weekend, the report said.

Fewer ships have attempted to make the crossing following a clampdown by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. and US forces firing on an Iran-linked vessel, with only nine ships transiting the strait April 19.

Amid competing US and Iranian blockades, US military forces interdicted a tanker, the Tifani, carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian crude April 21, the US defense department said in a statement on X.

The tanker loaded crude at an Iranian port earlier in April and has since exited the strait; it was sailing around India's southern coast when it was interdicted, CAS data showed.

The Tifani was sanctioned in July as part of a broad crackdown on Iranian oil tycoon Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, also known as Hector, according to the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Of the 78 vessels that exited the Strait of Hormuz and moved beyond the US blockade line since its imposition, 47 were linked to Iran, according to the CAS report.

"Iranian flows continue via deception, including dark activity and ship-to-ship transfers," Windward analysts said in a report on April 20.

Iran's total crude oil liftings so far in April have averaged 2.68 million b/d, with an estimated 1.2 million b/d earmarked for exports, compared to exports of 1.38 million b/d in March, according to CAS.

"Since the start of the conflict, Iranian oil has largely continued to move unimpeded, with vessels transporting 64 million barrels of crude confirmed to have exited the Strait of Hormuz for onward delivery to customers," the report said.

The US Central Command said in a statement April 20 that it has directed 27 vessels to return to Iranian ports.

According to Windward analysts, 870 vessels were still inside the Strait of Hormuz.