Hormuz tanker traffic drops as US-Iran fighting disrupts oil route

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and nearby Gulf of Oman transfer zones has fallen sharply as renewed U.S.-Iran fighting and attacks on commercial vessels push shipowners to stay away. Lloyd’s List Intelligence counted 53 vessel transits in the week through July 20, down from 157 a week earlier, while tanker and gas carrier crossings dropped to 30 from 90. Reuters also reviewed July 18 satellite images showing just one pair of tankers conducting ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s coast, down from three pairs on July 11. Clarksons said supertanker sailings through the strait slipped to an average of two a day over the past week, from five the previous week. The waterway handles roughly a fifth of global oil consumption.