Strait of Hormuz traffic drops to 14 ships, with most leaving Persian Gulf: CAS

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to 14 on April 29, with 11 of the vessels leaving the Persian Gulf, according to an S&P Global Commodities at Sea report on April 30.

The count fell from 16 on April 28, CAS said.

The April 29 traffic was made up of three bitumen tankers, three bulk carriers, three general cargo ships, three landing craft, one container ship and one tug, CAS said in the report. The three ships that entered the Persian Gulf consisted of an Indian-linked bitumen tanker, a bulk carrier and a general cargo ship, CAS said.

Shipping is slow with no incidents or suspicious activity reported since April 22, CAS said, citing the UK Maritime Trade Operations. The US Central Command said April 29 that it has enforced its naval blockade against 42 commercial vessels since its inception, CAS said.

An estimated 278 ships have passed through the blockade since April 23, with 143 ships entering the Persian Gulf and 135 leaving, CAS said. Fifteen of the total were Iran-linked ships that successfully crossed into the Gulf of Oman, while 19 Iran-linked ships exited across the blockade line during the period, CAS said.

Most ships that made it through the US blockade did not cross the Strait of Hormuz, CAS said. Activity was largely concentrated at ports in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with only 12 ships transiting Hormuz both before and after the blockade, CAS said.