Nine ships use Strait of Hormuz as 'renewed tensions' to slow traffic: CAS

Nine ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on May 3, down from 13 on May 2 and 21 on May 1, S&P Global Commodities at Sea said in a May 4 report.

The May 3 traffic comprised three cargo ships, two bulk carriers, two landing craft, one bitumen tanker and one LPG small gas carrier, CAS said. Three of the ships entered the Persian Gulf, including the LPG tanker G Jades, which is part of the Iranian fleet and is currently in ballast, CAS said. It passed the US naval blockade May 2, CAS said.

Another Iranian ship, the VLGC Sarv Shakti, left Hormuz heading east on May 2 and also crossed through the US naval blockade on May 3, CAS said. It is heading for New Mangalore, India, it said.

Forty-four ships crossed the US naval blockade line over the three days, evenly split between outbound transits and inbound toward the Gulf of Oman, CAS said. The US Central Command redirected 49 commercial vessels by May 3 since the US naval blockade began, according to CAS.

Traffic is set to remain constrained given "renewed tensions" as the US said it will assist ships through Hormuz while Iran said all commercial ships need coordination with the Iranian military, CAS said.

"Without consent from Iran to let commercial ships transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz, it is currently not clear whether the Iranian threat to ships can be degraded or suppressed," Jakob Larsen, BIMCO's chief safety and security officer, said in a May 4 statement. "The overall security situation for the shipping industry is currently unchanged, and our advice is for all shipowners to continue carrying out thorough risk assessments."

Three tankers carrying Iraqi crude have exited Hormuz since the start of the war, CAS said. As of May 3, about 163 million barrels of crude oil remains on tankers positioned west of the Strait of Hormuz, including an estimated 43 million barrels of Iranian crude and 42 million barrels of Saudi Arabia crude oil, CAS said.