Evergreen Ship Attack Slows Traffic in Strait of Hormuz

Fewer vessels sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, June 26, than earlier in the same week. The decline began hours after Iran fired upon a container ship operated by Evergreen. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) temporarily suspended its voluntary plan to evacuate hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of crew members from the Persian Gulf, after the vessel was damaged in the attack near the Omani side of the waterway. Nevertheless, at least four oil tankers—including three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), each capable of transporting a maximum of 2 million barrels of crude oil—entered the Gulf to load oil, according to maritime tracking data from LSEG and MarineTraffic. Two other independent supertankers entered the strait to load Iranian oil, according to separate shipping data, while another tanker exited the waterway with 2 million barrels of crude oil through the Omani side of Hormuz, according to an analysis by Kpler. Oil buyers were hoping to secure inventories after months of disruptions caused by the war in Iran, following a ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran. Crude oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday, heading for sharp weekly losses due to decreasing supply concerns, while Saudi Arabia, the main exporter, resumed loadings in the Persian Gulf, paving the way for increased supply. Before the conflict began, the global daily average of sailings was approximately 125 vessels. Evergreen Marine recently stated that one of its vessels was hit near Oman by an "unknown object," after U.S. officials informed Reuters that Iran had fired upon the unit. "The attack represents a setback in plans to evacuate ships and resume transits through the Strait of Hormuz, although some journeys can still be expected to take place," said Jakob Larsen, director of protection and security at the shipping association Bimco. "The situation underscores the importance of clear and unequivocal agreements between the U.S. and Iran regarding the resumption of maritime traffic through the strait," he added. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, recently stated that safe passage through the strait could not be guaranteed without prior coordination with Tehran. Tanker traffic—which includes crude oil tankers, product tankers, and chemical tankers—reached 13 transits on Friday, June 26, in both directions, down from 24 on Thursday, June 25, and 27 vessels on Wednesday, June 24, the highest level since before the conflict began with U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran on February 28, according to an analysis by Kpler. As for global sailings in both directions of the strait, including general cargo (or bulk) vessels, an independent analysis by AXSMarine showed 62 transits on June 24, the highest daily figure since the conflict began. That represented 53% of the traffic recorded on the same day last year, AXSMarine noted. "Traffic has not yet fully normalized," it concluded.