Hormuz Strait Crossing Shipping Activity Declines After Two Days of Mutual Attacks between the US and Iran

ILLUSTRATION/Hormuz Strait/DOK US Navy

JAKARTA - International shipping activities crossing the Strait of Hormuz have decreased after the US's continued attacks on Iranian coastal installations in the last two nights.

However, a number of ships still crossed the strait without activating the transponder, making it difficult to make an accurate assessment.

The latest attack by the US was triggered by incidents on Wednesday and Thursday, following drone attacks on three ships that crossed the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian permission.

On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said "foreign parties have absolutely no interest in this region or the Strait of Hormuz."

They also stressed that "interference in the determination of the shipping route will not only be met with decisive and crippling action from our side, but will also greatly disrupt the process of gradual reopening" which has begun since the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran last month.

In its statement, the IRGC said ships were required to "obtain permission from the IRGC Navy by disciplining the security protocol."

According to shipping analysts, Iran has taken advantage of the recent lull in conflict to accelerate exports from Kharg Island, its main export hub.

"Anticipating the possible resumption of the US Navy blockade in the near future, Tehran sent no less than 10 million barrels of crude oil and fuel oil overnight," TankerTrackers reported on Thursday, July 9, as reported by CNN.

"The three Kharg Island export terminals remain fully operational" despite the latest US attack, according to analysts at Windward, a maritime intelligence service.

"Around 63 million barrels of Iranian crude oil are currently at sea," Windward said. After the US this week lifted an exemption that had previously allowed Iranian crude oil exports, "operators, insurers, and buyers are fully exposed to US secondary sanctions on any cargo they handle," Windward noted.

Data from the MarineTraffic tracking service showed only a handful of vessels in the strait on Thursday, including two empty Iranian tankers entering the Gulf.

The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier, operated by ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates' state energy company, is leaving the Gulf via a route close to the Omani coast.